BLACKWELL WON'T GIVE UP YET
By Chris Wilson, PA Sport
Sporting Life
Leeds boss Kevin Blackwell acknowledged his team's prospects of automatic promotion from the Coca-Cola Championship are looking bleak after the 1-0 defeat at Hull.
Blackwell's team are now without a league win in five attempts after Jon Parkin's powerful
downward header on 76 minutes earned Peter Taylor's men local bragging rights from an engaging Yorkshire derby.
The visitors have also failed to find the back of the net in their last three games - a statistic their manager believes is the pivotal factor behind their recent slump.
"It's tight at the top at the moment and it's just one of those things," said Blackwell.
"We've lost form in the last third of the field but that can come back as quickly as it goes."
Sheffield United's hold on second place is looking more secure and Blackwell admitted it is now difficult to see Leeds catching the Blades.
"It is now a severe hurdle but we can't give it up because it is still a surmountable figure," said Blackwell.
"If we are going to do it we are going to have to do it the hard way."
Leeds could have no complaints about the scoreline at the KC Stadium as their hosts possessed the greater attacking verve and defensive stability all afternoon.
And had it not been for Neil Sullivan, who made a string of top-drawer saves, Blackwell's team would have lost by a greater margin.
But in the end, Parkin's header from Stuart Green's perfect cross was sufficient to sentence the former Premiership giants to a confidence-draining defeat against their local rivals.
"I've not said a lot to the players," added the Leeds boss.
"They are obviously disappointed because the prize is so great.
"There are times to be strong and harsh and there are times to stand back and assess it.
"I've got a lot of assessing to do between now and next week. I can't fault the effort and when we knocked the ball around we looked a good side.
"But for all the good positions we got ourselves into we kept either firing blanks or lacking imagination."
While Leeds seemingly destined for the play-offs, Hull are set fair for another season in the Championship after securing three points which go a long way to allaying their relegation fears.
"We've given ourselves a right chance and I can't see us not getting two or three more points with only five games to go," said Tigers boss Peter Taylor.
"I think we deserved to win. It was a cracking local derby - a local derby for us anyway - between two very committed teams.
"I think the players knew with the coverage how much this game means to our supporters. It also means a lot to us and I thought the tempo right from the start was first class.
"We were very committed and we had to be against a team like Leeds."
By Chris Wilson, PA Sport
Sporting Life
Leeds boss Kevin Blackwell acknowledged his team's prospects of automatic promotion from the Coca-Cola Championship are looking bleak after the 1-0 defeat at Hull.
Blackwell's team are now without a league win in five attempts after Jon Parkin's powerful
downward header on 76 minutes earned Peter Taylor's men local bragging rights from an engaging Yorkshire derby.The visitors have also failed to find the back of the net in their last three games - a statistic their manager believes is the pivotal factor behind their recent slump.
"It's tight at the top at the moment and it's just one of those things," said Blackwell.
"We've lost form in the last third of the field but that can come back as quickly as it goes."
Sheffield United's hold on second place is looking more secure and Blackwell admitted it is now difficult to see Leeds catching the Blades.
"It is now a severe hurdle but we can't give it up because it is still a surmountable figure," said Blackwell.
"If we are going to do it we are going to have to do it the hard way."
Leeds could have no complaints about the scoreline at the KC Stadium as their hosts possessed the greater attacking verve and defensive stability all afternoon.
And had it not been for Neil Sullivan, who made a string of top-drawer saves, Blackwell's team would have lost by a greater margin.
But in the end, Parkin's header from Stuart Green's perfect cross was sufficient to sentence the former Premiership giants to a confidence-draining defeat against their local rivals.
"I've not said a lot to the players," added the Leeds boss.
"They are obviously disappointed because the prize is so great.
"There are times to be strong and harsh and there are times to stand back and assess it.
"I've got a lot of assessing to do between now and next week. I can't fault the effort and when we knocked the ball around we looked a good side.
"But for all the good positions we got ourselves into we kept either firing blanks or lacking imagination."
While Leeds seemingly destined for the play-offs, Hull are set fair for another season in the Championship after securing three points which go a long way to allaying their relegation fears.
"We've given ourselves a right chance and I can't see us not getting two or three more points with only five games to go," said Tigers boss Peter Taylor.
"I think we deserved to win. It was a cracking local derby - a local derby for us anyway - between two very committed teams.
"I think the players knew with the coverage how much this game means to our supporters. It also means a lot to us and I thought the tempo right from the start was first class.
"We were very committed and we had to be against a team like Leeds."
