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.
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.
