Yorkshire Evening Post 19/3/12
Late agony for brave Whites
By Phil Hay
More than anything else, Neil Warnock wanted to avoid appreciation of a gallant defeat. But the sound of Leeds United being applauded from the field after drawing with West Ham United was just as unpalatable.
There are worse results to be had in the Championship but this of all results will hurt the club and hurt their manager. Warnock had much to be proud of and much to appreciate but the middle of March, as he said himself, is not the time for excusing precious points lost.
For the briefest of moments it was, as the late ITV commentator Brian Moore once said, up for grabs. Promotion back on and a season-defining win all but sealed against the biggest-hitting Championship club; the afternoon as Warnock visualised it.
Everything about Saturday’s game against West Ham appealed to him: the history behind it, the stature of the clubs involved and the promise of the Midas touch exactly when Leeds needed it. After 83 minutes of unremarkable but powerful sparring, Luciano Becchio poached his second goal in a week and took the match by the throat.
A grin spread across Warnock’s face and the crowd he sought – in excess of 33,000 and the largest at a league game at Elland Road for 18 months – struggled to contain itself, daring to believe in a previously hopeless term. When Danny Collins equalised in the final time of normal time, the weight of the blow was withering.
Aggrieved
Warnock put on a brave face afterwards but was nonetheless aggrieved; aggrieved that a team with so many problems a month ago had passed up a telling win, and aggrieved that referee Peter Walton stood idle when Carlton Cole collided with Darren O’Dea as Collins rose to score.
West Ham were worth their point, according to Sam Allardyce and most others watching, but their efforts on target numbered three. “I’ve never been this disappointed,” Warnock said. “Or if I have, I can’t remember when.”
Sixth place is on the horizon still, five points away rather than four, but the trek there will be arduous. Twenty-two points from a possible 30 was Leeds’ target before the weekend. Twenty-one points from a possible 27 is now the order of their final nine fixtures. “You’ve got to win games like this,” said Warnock in frustration.
Becchio’s strike and Collins’ reply were two of the few moments when the match broke free of the competitive mayhem generated by a passionate crowd. In an atmosphere so expectant, the football could only be manic and fierce, and it was from the the off.
Jack Collison introduced himself to Adam Clayton by sliding through the midfielder’s legs and Clayton returned the challenge with interest in front of Walton, just in case the official thought he might glide under the radar.
Paul Robinson and Michael Brown upped the ante with brutal tackles in the second half.
For as long the game remained unsettled, chances to score were fleeting and scrambled. West Ham’s first came courtesy of an error by goalkeeper Andy Lonergan, whose clearance struck the head of Nicky Maynard before bouncing to safety, and a shot from Tom Lees deflected wide off the legs of Kevin Nolan at the other end. They were exploratory punches in a heavyweight contest.
Leeds found soon enough that when they pushed West Ham’s defence, gaps appeared. Abdoulaye Faye stood up to Robert Snodgrass at the fourth attempt after the winger cut back and forward through the visitors’ box, and Collins plucked a convertible opportunity off the feet of Ross McCormack eight yards from goal.
But Warnock was wise enough to expect trouble of his own and Lonergan succeeded in averting it after 23 minutes when Matt Taylor’s pass ran kindly to Maynard, vacant between Robinson and Darren O’Dea. Maynard’s first touch was heavy and Lonergan met him on the edge of his box, parrying the ball and then gathering it at the second attempt.
Warnock’s tactics were as laid out by his first four matches as manager – hassle without the ball, be sensible with it. West Ham tried to exert themselves, prompted by the driving runs of James Tomkins in the centre of midfield, but there was no scope for bulling Leeds. Those days appear to have passed.
A goal eluded Snodgrass by inches before half-time when Taylor handled 20 yards from West Ham’s goal and Snodgrass whipped the free-kick past Robert Green’s far post.
Clayton, too, lacked a small amount of accuracy when Faye sent a clearing header spinning into his own area, and Snodgrass had the ball in the net in injury-time, only for Walton to spot a foul by Becchio. Warnock made no attempt to argue and bounded towards the tunnel with a spring in his step when the interval came.
Tomkins – West Ham’s most intuitive player – was less mobile, taking a kick in the last minute of the half and limping from the field long after the rest of the players. He did not reappear for the second half.
That half started like a game of chess, and Allardyce waited 10 minutes before asking Carlton Cole to end Maynard’s unproductive shift as a lone striker. Cole’s first useful act was to clip a cross narrowly in front of Taylor six yards from goal as the game gathered pace again, and his close-range header which failed to test Lonergan wasted an inviting free-kick from Taylor.
It was rather Green, one of two England internationals on the field, who pulled off the most notable save with 19 minutes left, diving to meet Paul Connolly’s glancing header with both hands. Tense as the game was, it was still an afternoon when both keepers were left in relative peace.
Brown started a superficial scuffle soon after by aggressively fouling Tomkins’ replacement, Gary O’Neil, but the argument of the day seemed to have been settled in the 83rd minute when Connolly nodded a Snodgrass cross against the bar and Becchio followed up to cushion the rebound into the net.
Yet West Ham’s resilience abounded and when Mark Noble stabbed a corner deep into Lonergan’s box with suspicions of fouls everywhere, Collins looped a header over the stranded keeper and found the far corner of the net.
Allardyce smiled a knowing smile as a post mortem began in United’s penalty area. When full-time came, Brown grabbed the ball in anger and hacked it the full length of the field.

Independent 18/3/12
Collins' last-minute strike denies Leeds victory
Leeds United 1 West Ham United 1
Simon Hart
Elland Road attracted its biggest attendance for 18 months but for long periods of a contest high on sweat but low on sparkle, the 33,366 present could have been forgiven for wondering what all the expectation had been about.
Eventually, a game that appeared to be meandering to a goalless draw came to life in an exciting denouement as Luciano Becchio headed Leeds in front before Danny Collins nodded West Ham level in the 90th minute to seal a result that did no favours to anybody.
West Ham may be unbeaten in eight matches but after slipping out of the top two in midweek they lost further ground because of Southampton and Reading's away wins, and they are now three points behind the latter in third.
Sam Allardyce, the visiting manager, was grateful for the point but did bemoan his team's recent run of home draws. "It is not a slip-up today for me, it is a slip-up at home against Palace, Watford and disappointingly Doncaster, that has been the crux – too many draws," he said.
It might have been even worse for West Ham after Leeds struck with seven minutes remaining. When a Robert Snodgrass corner was only partially cleared, the Leeds winger put the ball back into the six-yard box where Robert Green palmed the ball only as far as Paul Connolly at the far post. The full-back headed against the crossbar, with Becchio first to the rebound.
Leeds appeared to have a significant victory in their grasp but instead Danny Collins, West Ham's on-loan Stoke defender, got free of his marker Tom Lees and headed Mark Noble's corner past Andy Lonergan.
Manager Neil Warnock was unhappy with a "blatant push" by Carlton Cole on Darren O'Dea as the corner came over, and voiced his frustration that Leeds' last two home performances, against Southampton and West Ham, had yielded only one point.
"I don't think they had a chance other than the set piece," Warnock said. "I am disappointed because we are running out of games and should have had four wins out of five since I've been here. We have played West Ham and should have won and we battered Southampton but have come away with one point."
There was little to entertain the crown in a scrappy first half. When Taylor handled just outside his box Snodgrass went close with a dead-ball strike that curled just past the far post. Then Adam Clayton was wide with a shot on the turn. On the stroke of half-time Leeds got the ball in the net but Snodgrass's volley from Becchio's flick was ruled out by Peter Walton for a foul by the Argentinian.
West Ham lost James Tomkins, playing in a holding midfield role, after he suffered a trapped nerve, meaning Gary O'Neil came on for the second half in his place. The arrival of Carlton Cole, replacing Maynard in the 56th minute, "made a difference" according to Allardyce and certainly the visitors were now carrying a greater threat, as both Abdoulaye Faye and Cole himself went close with headers from set pieces.
Allardyce also introduced Ravel Morrison, whose two goals for the club's development squad in midweek earned him his first senior outing since joining West Ham from Manchester United in January.
With 20 minutes remaining, Green made his first save of a tight second period to keep out a Paul Connolly header and the tension threatened to boil over with an outbreak of handbags after Michael Brown's late tackle on O'Neil. Allardyce admitted his team are "a little edgier" after falling out of the promotion places but hopes for better at home against Middlesbrough on Tuesday.

Mail 17/3/12
Leeds 1 West Ham 1: Desperate Danny's last-gasp leveller floors hosts
Loan defender Danny Collins scored a vital last-minute equaliser to earn West Ham what could prove to be a vital point at Leeds, as they extended their unbeaten run to eight games.
When Luciano Becchio nodded Leeds ahead with seven minutes to go, the ever-changing npower Championship promotion picture was not looking too favourable for the Hammers, with top two rivals Southampton and Reading both winning.
But, right on cue, Collins rose the highest to head in a Mark Noble corner and peg Leeds back in an act of damage limitation for Sam Allardyce's men, who are now five points off the lead and three points shy of second.
It was just the second goal Leeds have conceded under new manager Neil Warnock and perhaps one of their most costly of the season.
Since the veteran replaced Simon Grayson a month ago, a renewed play-off push had seemed a possibility.
A win was needed, though, and until Collins struck, it seemed they had got it.
Warnock had succeeded in his wish to see Elland Road sold out for the game, but those inside had little to cheer about in a chanceless opening 10 minutes.
Things livened up after that, with Leeds defender Tom Lees' scuffed effort scraping just wide and Robert Snodgrass jinking his way into a shooting position, only to be crowded out.
West Ham's players were then angered by Paul Connolly's tackle on Kevin Nolan - deemed legal by referee Peter Walton - but had more to be concerned about moments later when Nicky Maynard missed the game's first genuine chance.
The striker nipped in ahead of Darren O'Dea to find himself through on Andy Lonergan's goal with 22 minutes gone, but his first touch was heavy and the goalkeeper was able to get out and smother the ball at his feet.
More clever play from Snodgrass then saw him create an angle to set Ross McCormack free but Matt Taylor nicked possession from him, before Snodgrass flashed a free-kick from the corner of the box just wide of the post.
Maynard's chance remained the best going into the break, though, but both sides had cause for complaint when the whistle was blown, with West Ham claiming a handball in the box against Michael Brown and Leeds confused as to why Snodgrass' touch beyond Robert Green was ruled out for apparent pushing by Becchio.
The Hammers had to replace James Tomkins, so effective in the sweeper position, at half-time, and his replacement, Gary O'Neil, skimmed an effort just wide within 60 seconds of his introduction.
With Maynard isolated and getting little change out of Lees and O'Dea, Allardyce opted to replace him with the more physical Carlton Cole and the former England striker nearly made an immediate impact, putting a ball across the six yard box that evaded everyone.
A couple of thundering tackles from loan defender Paul Robinson then helped whip up the home crowd, but it was West Ham who continued to probe with greater intent - Abdoulaye Faye nodding wide from a corner and Lonergan denying O'Neil after Jack Collison's shot flew loose.
Cole then arched a header over the bar from a Noble free-kick, before Green was forced to make his first save in the 70th minute when he showed terrific reactions to turn away a Connolly header.
Connolly rarely ventures into opposition territory but, when he did again with 83 minutes on the clock, it created the opening goal.
Snodgrass' cross got to the back post, Connolly headed against the bar and the ball fell to Becchio who did the rest.
The lead would only last seven minutes for the home side, though, as West Ham secured a deserved point when Collins connected with Noble's well-taken corner.

www.leedsunited.com 12/3/12
GOALKEEPER JOINS LIONS ON LOAN
Taylor links up with Millwall...
Leeds United goalkeeper Maik Taylor has joined Millwall on loan until the end of the season.
The 40-year-old Northern Ireland international, who has made almost 600 career appearances and last featured for his country in October, joined United on a short-term deal shortly before Christmas.
Maik, who signed an extension until the end of the season in January, hasn't made a senior appearance and has been an unused substitute on 12 occasions.
Maik will join Millwall to provide competition for David Forde with the Lions other goalkeeper Steve Mildenhall currently sidelined due to injury.
Fellow goalkeeper Paul Rachubka is also currently out on loan, at League One club Leyton Orient.