Middlesbrough v Leeds United: Play-off hopes fade as Main sinks Whites
YEP 13/2/13
By Phil Hay
Leeds United’s vision of the future focuses solely on the Premier League but the Premier League is steadfast in its refusal to admit them. A 10th year in the Football League beckons after a defeat which might draw a line under this season and their manager.
Last night’s game at The Riverside had the potential to revive and finish campaigns and it did precisely that, giving Middlesbrough a shot in the arm while leaving United with nothing so much as hope to cling to.
Mathematics say the play-offs are not beyond them but there is no serious prospect of a reprieve in the last 15 games. All that remains is a debate, once again, about where the club goes from here.
At the centre of that debate is the question of what lies in store for Neil Warnock, a coach whose first anniversary as manager of Leeds falls next week.
He will reach that milestone unless United’s new owners take the view that the club’s experiment with him is done but completing a second year at Elland Road seems thoroughly implausible.
The club’s supporters turned on him again before and after full-time, questioning his refusal to make substitutions and reviving chants of ‘Warnock, time to go’ after Curtis Main leapt to head home the game’s only goal in the 81st minute.
Main was sent off before the final whistle for a second booking but by then the damage was long since done.
There were chances aplenty for Leeds but no goals and no obvious sign of promotion waiting in the wings.
United started the evening five points back from the play-offs and slipped further behind Boro in sixth, relegated to the very fringes of that fight.
They have been there for so much of Warnock’s tenure and rancour filled the air as United’s players left the pitch.
Warnock came to Elland Road with the ambition of an eighth managerial promotion but his dream has never strayed far into realistic territory.
His team missed an opportunity to pick off a fragile Boro side but they have been missing opportunities for some time, prior to his appointment and after it. Time appears to be running out.
The diplomacy on both sides of the fence was undisguised ahead of kick-off with Warnock rejected the notion that the match was must-win for Leeds and Tony Mowbray countering talk of a crisis at the Riverside, despite the debilitating effect of five straight league defeats on his Boro squad. Perhaps Mowbray had a point.
Their comments struck soothing notes but failed to convince many who listened.
The clubs’ meeting came at a critical juncture in their respective campaigns whatever Warnock or Mowbray said, and United striker Ross McCormack called it the “biggest game of the season bar none”.
“Draws aint good enough now,” he tweeted beforehand, apparently in tune with the Championship table.
It was not a night to give away anything or concede chances as glaring as that which fell to Rhys Williams in the fourth minute, the product of a loose and easy free-kick from Josh McEachran.
United’s defenders followed the flight of the ball but not the ball itself and an unmarked Williams held his head in his hands when he snatched at a volley, drove it into the ground and over Paddy Kenny’s crossbar. From the midfielder’s position, it looked easier to score.
His effort was the opening shot in a lively exhibition of first-half target practice.
David Norris drilled a firm strike wide after Leeds’ first attack worked him into space outside the box and his effort on eight minutes after quick interplay between McCormack and Steve Morison drew a diving parry from Jason Steele.
Again, the goalkeeper was lucky to be given the opportunity to intervene.
Boro’s anxiety shone through in those moments and others during the first half, and a small crowd at the Riverside spoke readily of a deteriorating season. Leeds, too, took 2,100 to a ground where 3,000 tickets were offered and United typically sell out without any effort but Warnock’s side settled into the atmosphere more happily. Luke Varney’s wayward shot was a third worthwhile attempt on Steele’s goal inside 10 minutes.
It did not take much longer for the tension of the evening to incite the temper of both teams. Lee Peltier’s sliding foul on Grant Leadbitter drew a booking from referee Keith Stroud and Andre Bikey invited the game’s second caution by involving himself aggressively in the ensuing scuffle.
Scrappy though it was, the contest had a compelling edge. Curtis Main drew a simple save from Kenny after hopeless passing from both teams inadvertently sent Boro on the counter-attack and Varney’s back-heel almost presented Morison with a tap-in.
McCormack missed exactly that when an untimely slip from Steele left Boro’s goal exposed in the 29th minute.
The keeper lost his footing as he ran out to collect a high ball over the top but McCormack took time to control it and allowed Jonathan Woodgate to cover the near post before hacking a shot against the centre-back’s legs. In a stricken state, Boro counted their blessings as their midfield ran possession downfield.
Leeds were no less indebted to Kenny in the 45th minute when he sprinted from his box and used his body to repel a shot from Faris Haroun after McEachran produced the half’s one and only killer pass, but the encounter waited patiently for a catalyst. Not until the hour did the caution of both teams give way completely. There were frantic moments, like Kenny and Tom Lees colliding under Mustapha Carayol’s hanging cross, and times when an ounce of good fortune was all Leeds required.
Paul Green was inches from opening the scoring in the 64th minute when McCormack’s free-kick swung in front of him and dropped into Steele’s arms.
Leadbitter went just as close with a free-kick which all but grazed the outside of Kenny’s right-hand post and desperate defending kept Boro at bay in the 73rd minute as United’s keeper and Stephen Warnock threw their bodies in front of the kitchen sink, but Morison let Mowbray’s side off the hook when his only chance – a free header from the ideal range – flew straight at Steele.
Warnock had a full bench to work with but chose to leave his team unchanged, drawing dissent from the away end. They urged him to make changes and he applauded sarcastically in response.
With nine minutes to play, Main leapt to head Boro substitute Ishmael Miller’s cross brilliantly over Kenny and anger on the terraces was obvious again.
Whether the 64-year-old can again fight through the rancour remains to be seen.
By Phil Hay
Leeds United’s vision of the future focuses solely on the Premier League but the Premier League is steadfast in its refusal to admit them. A 10th year in the Football League beckons after a defeat which might draw a line under this season and their manager.
Last night’s game at The Riverside had the potential to revive and finish campaigns and it did precisely that, giving Middlesbrough a shot in the arm while leaving United with nothing so much as hope to cling to.
Mathematics say the play-offs are not beyond them but there is no serious prospect of a reprieve in the last 15 games. All that remains is a debate, once again, about where the club goes from here.
At the centre of that debate is the question of what lies in store for Neil Warnock, a coach whose first anniversary as manager of Leeds falls next week.
He will reach that milestone unless United’s new owners take the view that the club’s experiment with him is done but completing a second year at Elland Road seems thoroughly implausible.
The club’s supporters turned on him again before and after full-time, questioning his refusal to make substitutions and reviving chants of ‘Warnock, time to go’ after Curtis Main leapt to head home the game’s only goal in the 81st minute.
Main was sent off before the final whistle for a second booking but by then the damage was long since done.
There were chances aplenty for Leeds but no goals and no obvious sign of promotion waiting in the wings.
United started the evening five points back from the play-offs and slipped further behind Boro in sixth, relegated to the very fringes of that fight.
They have been there for so much of Warnock’s tenure and rancour filled the air as United’s players left the pitch.
Warnock came to Elland Road with the ambition of an eighth managerial promotion but his dream has never strayed far into realistic territory.
His team missed an opportunity to pick off a fragile Boro side but they have been missing opportunities for some time, prior to his appointment and after it. Time appears to be running out.
The diplomacy on both sides of the fence was undisguised ahead of kick-off with Warnock rejected the notion that the match was must-win for Leeds and Tony Mowbray countering talk of a crisis at the Riverside, despite the debilitating effect of five straight league defeats on his Boro squad. Perhaps Mowbray had a point.
Their comments struck soothing notes but failed to convince many who listened.
The clubs’ meeting came at a critical juncture in their respective campaigns whatever Warnock or Mowbray said, and United striker Ross McCormack called it the “biggest game of the season bar none”.
“Draws aint good enough now,” he tweeted beforehand, apparently in tune with the Championship table.
It was not a night to give away anything or concede chances as glaring as that which fell to Rhys Williams in the fourth minute, the product of a loose and easy free-kick from Josh McEachran.
United’s defenders followed the flight of the ball but not the ball itself and an unmarked Williams held his head in his hands when he snatched at a volley, drove it into the ground and over Paddy Kenny’s crossbar. From the midfielder’s position, it looked easier to score.
His effort was the opening shot in a lively exhibition of first-half target practice.
David Norris drilled a firm strike wide after Leeds’ first attack worked him into space outside the box and his effort on eight minutes after quick interplay between McCormack and Steve Morison drew a diving parry from Jason Steele.
Again, the goalkeeper was lucky to be given the opportunity to intervene.
Boro’s anxiety shone through in those moments and others during the first half, and a small crowd at the Riverside spoke readily of a deteriorating season. Leeds, too, took 2,100 to a ground where 3,000 tickets were offered and United typically sell out without any effort but Warnock’s side settled into the atmosphere more happily. Luke Varney’s wayward shot was a third worthwhile attempt on Steele’s goal inside 10 minutes.
It did not take much longer for the tension of the evening to incite the temper of both teams. Lee Peltier’s sliding foul on Grant Leadbitter drew a booking from referee Keith Stroud and Andre Bikey invited the game’s second caution by involving himself aggressively in the ensuing scuffle.
Scrappy though it was, the contest had a compelling edge. Curtis Main drew a simple save from Kenny after hopeless passing from both teams inadvertently sent Boro on the counter-attack and Varney’s back-heel almost presented Morison with a tap-in.
McCormack missed exactly that when an untimely slip from Steele left Boro’s goal exposed in the 29th minute.
The keeper lost his footing as he ran out to collect a high ball over the top but McCormack took time to control it and allowed Jonathan Woodgate to cover the near post before hacking a shot against the centre-back’s legs. In a stricken state, Boro counted their blessings as their midfield ran possession downfield.
Leeds were no less indebted to Kenny in the 45th minute when he sprinted from his box and used his body to repel a shot from Faris Haroun after McEachran produced the half’s one and only killer pass, but the encounter waited patiently for a catalyst. Not until the hour did the caution of both teams give way completely. There were frantic moments, like Kenny and Tom Lees colliding under Mustapha Carayol’s hanging cross, and times when an ounce of good fortune was all Leeds required.
Paul Green was inches from opening the scoring in the 64th minute when McCormack’s free-kick swung in front of him and dropped into Steele’s arms.
Leadbitter went just as close with a free-kick which all but grazed the outside of Kenny’s right-hand post and desperate defending kept Boro at bay in the 73rd minute as United’s keeper and Stephen Warnock threw their bodies in front of the kitchen sink, but Morison let Mowbray’s side off the hook when his only chance – a free header from the ideal range – flew straight at Steele.
Warnock had a full bench to work with but chose to leave his team unchanged, drawing dissent from the away end. They urged him to make changes and he applauded sarcastically in response.
With nine minutes to play, Main leapt to head Boro substitute Ishmael Miller’s cross brilliantly over Kenny and anger on the terraces was obvious again.
Whether the 64-year-old can again fight through the rancour remains to be seen.
