Leeds United 1 Bournemouth 0: Whites ‘alive and kicking’ - Redfearn
Yorkshire Evening Post 21/1/15
Head coach Neil Redfearn declared Leeds United “alive and kicking” after a brave victory over Championship leaders Bournemouth eased the threat of relegation.
A 1-0 win at Elland Road last night – earned by a spectacular Luke Murphy goal – lifted the mood of a club who are technically without an owner today following Massimo Cellino’s disqualification.
Cellino is poised to quit the board at Leeds after learning on Monday that he had lost his appeal against a Football League ruling banning him from exercising control over the club until April 10. The Italian attended last night’s game, bizarrely cooking a pre-match meal of pasta for Redfearn and his squad, and Murphy’s strike on 36 minutes completed a priceless home-and-away double over Bournemouth.
Eddie Howe’s in-form squad threatened to snatch a point late on as Marc Pugh hit a post and Yann Kermorgant smashed a penalty against the bar following a professional foul by Giuseppe Bellusci which earned the defender a straight red card.
Leeds, who are hoping to complete the signing of Palermo defender Sol Bamba later this week, have now opened up a six-point gap over the Championship’s bottom three.
Redfearn met with Cellino in the aftermath of the Italian’s failed appeal on Monday and said he had been told it would be “business as usual” during the 58-year-old’s absence.
“It’s tough times at the moment but we proved with that performance that the club’s alive and kicking,” Redfearn said. “At the moment the football is our saving grace. It’s something you enjoy doing and something you can lose yourself in. I’ve said from day one that Bournemouth are the best footballing side in the division but in the first half in particular we pressured them to death. We rode our luck a bit at the end but because of the work rate we deserved our luck. That’s four games running now where we’ve played well.”
Head coach Neil Redfearn declared Leeds United “alive and kicking” after a brave victory over Championship leaders Bournemouth eased the threat of relegation.
A 1-0 win at Elland Road last night – earned by a spectacular Luke Murphy goal – lifted the mood of a club who are technically without an owner today following Massimo Cellino’s disqualification.
Cellino is poised to quit the board at Leeds after learning on Monday that he had lost his appeal against a Football League ruling banning him from exercising control over the club until April 10. The Italian attended last night’s game, bizarrely cooking a pre-match meal of pasta for Redfearn and his squad, and Murphy’s strike on 36 minutes completed a priceless home-and-away double over Bournemouth.
Eddie Howe’s in-form squad threatened to snatch a point late on as Marc Pugh hit a post and Yann Kermorgant smashed a penalty against the bar following a professional foul by Giuseppe Bellusci which earned the defender a straight red card.
Leeds, who are hoping to complete the signing of Palermo defender Sol Bamba later this week, have now opened up a six-point gap over the Championship’s bottom three.
Redfearn met with Cellino in the aftermath of the Italian’s failed appeal on Monday and said he had been told it would be “business as usual” during the 58-year-old’s absence.
“It’s tough times at the moment but we proved with that performance that the club’s alive and kicking,” Redfearn said. “At the moment the football is our saving grace. It’s something you enjoy doing and something you can lose yourself in. I’ve said from day one that Bournemouth are the best footballing side in the division but in the first half in particular we pressured them to death. We rode our luck a bit at the end but because of the work rate we deserved our luck. That’s four games running now where we’ve played well.”