Yorkshire Evening Post 23/4/11
Leeds United v Reading: Unlucky Whites end Royals ascent
By Phil Hay
The theory went that Reading’s sequence of victories was bound to run its course eventually, and their spectacular run met its end.
How much value Leeds United can place on a goalless stalemate will only become clear in a fortnight’s time.
Parity with Reading is not to be sniffed at, not when their previous eight league fixtures ended in resounding wins, but the point accrued by Leeds at Elland Road only achieved so much. It fell short of defending their long-held play-off position, snatched by Nottingham Forest in the night’s earlier kick-off with three games to play.
United shook themselves free of the mediocrity responsible for defeats to Millwall and Derby County and an unconvincing draw with Watford, and their willingness to fight fire with fire told the club’s manager, Simon Grayson, that his players are far from giving up the ghost.
The same could be said of a crowd which dropped to 24,564 but regained its famous, resounding voice.
It was still the case that Leeds found themselves beneath sixth place this morning, a scenario unseen for almost five months.
No shortage of irony could be found in the fact that, during a season when United’s defence has made so few friends in the city, a goalless draw under-whelmed Elland Road.
On account of Forest’s earlier result, it was unequivocally a game that Leeds were required to win, and the crossbar prevented Bradley Johnson from doing so midway through the second half.
By the last of three minutes of injury-time, Reading were hanging on grimly, though hang on they did against a rejuvenated club.
Grayson’s line-ups have been as unpredictable as Leeds’ results over the past month and last night’s selections were in keeping with a general lack of continuity.
Four changes followed four against Watford, the most striking the appearance of Richard Naylor in a starting side for the first time since October, but Reading’s team was as notable for the absence of Jimmy Kebe, the victim of a sudden and unpublicised injury.
Kebe’s pace was an obvious concern and his omission did more for Grayson’s spirits than Forest’s desperate win over Leicester City, a result which dropped Leeds into seventh position half-an-hour before the start of last night’s fixture at Elland Road.
United’s form had been threatening that downward shift for several weeks.
Grayson accepted himself that the outcome of their season was impossible to predict, regardless of Forest’s victory, and the result against Reading provided no more clarity.
Monday’s match at Crystal Palace might be more decisive, and Palace’s manager, Dougie Freedman, made a swift journey from Doncaster to be in Leeds yesterday evening.
Even without Kebe, the threat to Leeds was liable to come from either wing and the Royals took less than a minute to feed Jobi McAnuff on the right flank and tee up Shane Long for a scuffed touch that rolled safely towards Kasper Schmeichel.
United’s immediate attempt to assert themselves in the ensuing seconds warmed the crowd and primed the game perfectly.
It took 12 minutes for McAnuff to see the whites of Schmeichel’s eyes after a swift one-two with Long, and the goalkeeper’s sliding block was crucial.
When Noel Hunt broke into the box and forced an anxious tackle from Andy O’Brien, the danger already seemed to be building.
Grayson knew to expect that approach from Reading but his defence rode their earliest attacks at full stretch.
Hunt and Matt Mills collided with each other when Ian Harte, the former Leeds full-back, offered up his first telling cross of the night, and Hunt diverted a weak header wide, but United’s failure to open the scoring three minutes later was fractional.
Johnson angled the ball towards Robert Snodgrass at the far post, and his headed finish flew over the crossbar, encouraged by a swipe of Alex McCarthy’s fingertips. Elland Road needed that encouragement and more besides, but Naylor failed to go any closer than Snodgrass when he met the resulting corner with his forehead.
The intensity of the game was such that the first booking of the game might have come earlier than it did.
Jake Livermore asked for it in the 27th minute, sliding through McAnuff’s legs on the edge of Reading’s box, and risked a second nine minutes later when he hacked down Long on the edge of the centre circle. Referee Eddie Ilderton chose to let the tackle go but could easily have taken a less lenient view.
Before that point of controversy, McCarthy had denied Leeds by inches once more. Zurab Khizanishvili lost the ball to Max Gradel inside his own half and Gradel’s shot at McCarthy slipped off the keeper’s palms.
Unlike Chris Weele’s horrific error in Nottingham earlier in the day, the ball slipped by McCarthy’s right-hand post.
Both near-misses witnessed in the first half came at Reading’s end of the field, and a goalless scoreline at the interval did no harm to United’s mood or that of the supporters around them.
As for Reading, their performance failed to explain what the fuss was about.
Their wingers aside, Brian McDermott’s players were laboured and well contained.
Both he and Grayson suspected that they would be forced to chance their arms at some stage, in a game where a draw was as unhelpful as a defeat, and Grayson played his first card at the start of the second half, replacing Livermore with Neil Kilkenny.
The substitution removed a yellow-carded player from harm’s way, but the addition of another comfortable ball-player was not at all unwelcome.
McCarthy’s involvement before half-time failed to obscure a shortage of creative nous among a competitive midfield.
What followed was a spell of concerted pressure from Leeds, in which they badly needed to score.
O’Brien glanced a header wide and Kilkenny’s shot hit a body in the box as the Kop willed Reading to fold.
McDermott’s defence held resolutely and Naylor came as close as Livermore had to two quick bookings around the hour mark, escaping a red card when he pulled Long’s shirt.
A greater run of luck nevertheless aided the visitors when Johnson rumbled through their defence and slid an improvised finish against the top of McCarthy’s bar.
The margin was agonising, as was Mikele Leigertwood’s shot which landed in Schmeichel’s side-netting with eight minutes to play.
McCarthy then denied Snodgrass when Gradel gave the Scot an apparently open goal to attack with his head, and then substitute Sanchez Watt was unable to exploit a last-gasp chance when he had more time than he realised.
Honours-even – the phrase neither Grayson nor McDermott truly wanted to hear.
Leeds United v Reading: Unlucky Whites end Royals ascent
By Phil Hay
The theory went that Reading’s sequence of victories was bound to run its course eventually, and their spectacular run met its end.
How much value Leeds United can place on a goalless stalemate will only become clear in a fortnight’s time.
Parity with Reading is not to be sniffed at, not when their previous eight league fixtures ended in resounding wins, but the point accrued by Leeds at Elland Road only achieved so much. It fell short of defending their long-held play-off position, snatched by Nottingham Forest in the night’s earlier kick-off with three games to play.
United shook themselves free of the mediocrity responsible for defeats to Millwall and Derby County and an unconvincing draw with Watford, and their willingness to fight fire with fire told the club’s manager, Simon Grayson, that his players are far from giving up the ghost.
The same could be said of a crowd which dropped to 24,564 but regained its famous, resounding voice.
It was still the case that Leeds found themselves beneath sixth place this morning, a scenario unseen for almost five months.
No shortage of irony could be found in the fact that, during a season when United’s defence has made so few friends in the city, a goalless draw under-whelmed Elland Road.
On account of Forest’s earlier result, it was unequivocally a game that Leeds were required to win, and the crossbar prevented Bradley Johnson from doing so midway through the second half.
By the last of three minutes of injury-time, Reading were hanging on grimly, though hang on they did against a rejuvenated club.
Grayson’s line-ups have been as unpredictable as Leeds’ results over the past month and last night’s selections were in keeping with a general lack of continuity.
Four changes followed four against Watford, the most striking the appearance of Richard Naylor in a starting side for the first time since October, but Reading’s team was as notable for the absence of Jimmy Kebe, the victim of a sudden and unpublicised injury.
Kebe’s pace was an obvious concern and his omission did more for Grayson’s spirits than Forest’s desperate win over Leicester City, a result which dropped Leeds into seventh position half-an-hour before the start of last night’s fixture at Elland Road.
United’s form had been threatening that downward shift for several weeks.
Grayson accepted himself that the outcome of their season was impossible to predict, regardless of Forest’s victory, and the result against Reading provided no more clarity.
Monday’s match at Crystal Palace might be more decisive, and Palace’s manager, Dougie Freedman, made a swift journey from Doncaster to be in Leeds yesterday evening.
Even without Kebe, the threat to Leeds was liable to come from either wing and the Royals took less than a minute to feed Jobi McAnuff on the right flank and tee up Shane Long for a scuffed touch that rolled safely towards Kasper Schmeichel.
United’s immediate attempt to assert themselves in the ensuing seconds warmed the crowd and primed the game perfectly.
It took 12 minutes for McAnuff to see the whites of Schmeichel’s eyes after a swift one-two with Long, and the goalkeeper’s sliding block was crucial.
When Noel Hunt broke into the box and forced an anxious tackle from Andy O’Brien, the danger already seemed to be building.
Grayson knew to expect that approach from Reading but his defence rode their earliest attacks at full stretch.
Hunt and Matt Mills collided with each other when Ian Harte, the former Leeds full-back, offered up his first telling cross of the night, and Hunt diverted a weak header wide, but United’s failure to open the scoring three minutes later was fractional.
Johnson angled the ball towards Robert Snodgrass at the far post, and his headed finish flew over the crossbar, encouraged by a swipe of Alex McCarthy’s fingertips. Elland Road needed that encouragement and more besides, but Naylor failed to go any closer than Snodgrass when he met the resulting corner with his forehead.
The intensity of the game was such that the first booking of the game might have come earlier than it did.
Jake Livermore asked for it in the 27th minute, sliding through McAnuff’s legs on the edge of Reading’s box, and risked a second nine minutes later when he hacked down Long on the edge of the centre circle. Referee Eddie Ilderton chose to let the tackle go but could easily have taken a less lenient view.
Before that point of controversy, McCarthy had denied Leeds by inches once more. Zurab Khizanishvili lost the ball to Max Gradel inside his own half and Gradel’s shot at McCarthy slipped off the keeper’s palms.
Unlike Chris Weele’s horrific error in Nottingham earlier in the day, the ball slipped by McCarthy’s right-hand post.
Both near-misses witnessed in the first half came at Reading’s end of the field, and a goalless scoreline at the interval did no harm to United’s mood or that of the supporters around them.
As for Reading, their performance failed to explain what the fuss was about.
Their wingers aside, Brian McDermott’s players were laboured and well contained.
Both he and Grayson suspected that they would be forced to chance their arms at some stage, in a game where a draw was as unhelpful as a defeat, and Grayson played his first card at the start of the second half, replacing Livermore with Neil Kilkenny.
The substitution removed a yellow-carded player from harm’s way, but the addition of another comfortable ball-player was not at all unwelcome.
McCarthy’s involvement before half-time failed to obscure a shortage of creative nous among a competitive midfield.
What followed was a spell of concerted pressure from Leeds, in which they badly needed to score.
O’Brien glanced a header wide and Kilkenny’s shot hit a body in the box as the Kop willed Reading to fold.
McDermott’s defence held resolutely and Naylor came as close as Livermore had to two quick bookings around the hour mark, escaping a red card when he pulled Long’s shirt.
A greater run of luck nevertheless aided the visitors when Johnson rumbled through their defence and slid an improvised finish against the top of McCarthy’s bar.
The margin was agonising, as was Mikele Leigertwood’s shot which landed in Schmeichel’s side-netting with eight minutes to play.
McCarthy then denied Snodgrass when Gradel gave the Scot an apparently open goal to attack with his head, and then substitute Sanchez Watt was unable to exploit a last-gasp chance when he had more time than he realised.
Honours-even – the phrase neither Grayson nor McDermott truly wanted to hear.
