Leeds United Football Club - Matchreport Leeds United vs Ipswich Town
Pre-Match
United boss Kevin Blackwell made four changes to the side that drew with Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road last week, one of them enforced on him with Seth Johnson left out for contractual reasons to avoid paying Derby County £1/4m at this stage.
His absence gave Matthew Spring the chance to come in for a rare start, his first since Boxing Day and therefore his first of the year. Midfield saw most of the changes with Sean Gregan, at centre-half for the QPR game, returning in the place of the suspended Shaun Derry. Gregan's change of position saw Matthew Kilgallon return to the defence.
Aaron Lennon, crowned Young Player of the Season earlier this week, made way for Frazer Richardson to get a start on the right hand side of that three man forward line. Ian Moore returned on the left hand side of that attack with Marlon King dropping out.
David Healy was still missing with an ankle ligament injury.
The Match
The visitors need for the three points in this game was much greater than United's but it didn't appear that way despite Ipswich taking an early lead.
With ten minutes on the clock Jim Magilton played a through ball to Shefki Kuqi and the Finnish striker managed to turn Gary Kelly and his shot may have gained a strong deflection off the Leeds defender which helped deceive Neil Sullivan as the ball found its way to goal.
The visiting supporters were in raptures as the win would put them back into the automatic promotion places but the smile was soon wiped from their faces when United equalised straight from the restart.
It was Matthew Spring on his first appearance of the new year who rose highest and got a great header on the end of Frazer Richardson's right wing cross to power the ball past Lewis Price in the Ipswich goal.
Spring had only come into contention for a start in this game due to the contractual circumstances which ruled Seth Johnson out but already he had justified his inclusion.
The goal gave Spring some bounce in his step and the rest of the team too were lively, much as they had been in a narrow 1-0 defeat at Portman Road earlier this season.
Frazer Richardson was seeing plenty of the ball on the right hand side and Einarsson and Spring were able to get forward into the box but the chances just weren't falling to them.
Ipswich gave Neil Sullivan another scare just before the half hour mark when Kevin Horlock hit a left foot volley that just went over the bar.
Horlock then unlocked the Leeds defence with a great long pass to Kuqi inside the penalty area but the striker could not control the ball and it rolled harmlessly into touch. A minute later Horlock came off badly when Matthew Spring went in with a crunching - but fair - tackle on him.
At half time there was nothing to choose from between the teams, a sign perhaps that Blackwell's Leeds can challenge the top sides next season, or had Ipswich already resigned themselves to the play-offs?
Leeds began to turn up the pressure on Ipswich after the first ten minutes of the second half.
Ian Moore cut the ball across the box and it came back off the post where it was cleared to safety and then Darren Bent became the first man to be booked for a tackle from behind on Michael Gray.
Kuqi threatened to undo Leeds with a breakaway goal when he was allowed to make 50 yards on his run upfield but Gray used his experience to block out the shot and then when the ball broke favorably for Bent on the right hand side of the penalty area, he drilled it wide across the face of goal.
A fumble at the back from the Ipswich defence allowed Rob Hulse to get goalside with the ball at his feet but pushed out wide and some 20-yards out from goal, he didn't quite get the right angle on his shot and Ipswich survived.
Gylfi Einarsson's afternoon came to an end after 67 minutes when he went down injured for the second time, Simon Walton came on in his place.
Things looked bad for the substitute though after barely a minute on the pitch when it became apparent Walton had torn his hamstring and was forced to leave the pitch! That meant Jermaine Wright came on against his former club.
Ipswich used all their subs up when Darren Currie came on with 20 minutes left to play, Ian Westlake and Drissa Diallo having already come on for the Tractor Boys.
Rob Hulse had the ball in the back of the net on 72 minutes but he was clearly offside when he collected the ball and the goal was ruled out.
Currie looked odds on to score with 15 minutes left as he collected a pass from Bent inside the area but Matthew Kilgallon got back and put in a saving tackle to save Sullivan from having to attempt the save.
Matthew Spring scored a free-kick from 25-yards in pre-season against Valencia but he couldn't repeat the feat in open play from the same spot as his shot was gathered up by the keeper.
Rob Hulse had been beaten into second place by David Healy's goal against Plymouth for goal of the season earlier in the week but he nearly forced a recount when he turned on the edge of the area and smacked a great shot towards goal - the ball just going the wrong side of the post.
With just two minutes left of normal time Marlon King came on for Frazer Richardson as Blackwell made his final substitution.
Right on the stroke of the end of normal time, Kuqi could have won the game for the visitors but he volleyed a cross narrowly wide. It would have given their promotion chances a real boost, instead the play-offs beckon and Ipswich have bad memories of them.
If Kuqi's miss was unfortunate then Currie's in the third minute of extra time was criminal. Darren Bent played the perfect ball into the area for him and the unfortunate substitute sidefooted the ball wide of the target.
A point for both sides at full time, promising signs for Leeds but bitter disappointment for Ipswich who missed the chance to climb to second.
Pre-Match
United boss Kevin Blackwell made four changes to the side that drew with Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road last week, one of them enforced on him with Seth Johnson left out for contractual reasons to avoid paying Derby County £1/4m at this stage.
His absence gave Matthew Spring the chance to come in for a rare start, his first since Boxing Day and therefore his first of the year. Midfield saw most of the changes with Sean Gregan, at centre-half for the QPR game, returning in the place of the suspended Shaun Derry. Gregan's change of position saw Matthew Kilgallon return to the defence.
Aaron Lennon, crowned Young Player of the Season earlier this week, made way for Frazer Richardson to get a start on the right hand side of that three man forward line. Ian Moore returned on the left hand side of that attack with Marlon King dropping out.
David Healy was still missing with an ankle ligament injury.
The Match
The visitors need for the three points in this game was much greater than United's but it didn't appear that way despite Ipswich taking an early lead.
With ten minutes on the clock Jim Magilton played a through ball to Shefki Kuqi and the Finnish striker managed to turn Gary Kelly and his shot may have gained a strong deflection off the Leeds defender which helped deceive Neil Sullivan as the ball found its way to goal.
The visiting supporters were in raptures as the win would put them back into the automatic promotion places but the smile was soon wiped from their faces when United equalised straight from the restart.
It was Matthew Spring on his first appearance of the new year who rose highest and got a great header on the end of Frazer Richardson's right wing cross to power the ball past Lewis Price in the Ipswich goal.
Spring had only come into contention for a start in this game due to the contractual circumstances which ruled Seth Johnson out but already he had justified his inclusion.
The goal gave Spring some bounce in his step and the rest of the team too were lively, much as they had been in a narrow 1-0 defeat at Portman Road earlier this season.
Frazer Richardson was seeing plenty of the ball on the right hand side and Einarsson and Spring were able to get forward into the box but the chances just weren't falling to them.
Ipswich gave Neil Sullivan another scare just before the half hour mark when Kevin Horlock hit a left foot volley that just went over the bar.
Horlock then unlocked the Leeds defence with a great long pass to Kuqi inside the penalty area but the striker could not control the ball and it rolled harmlessly into touch. A minute later Horlock came off badly when Matthew Spring went in with a crunching - but fair - tackle on him.
At half time there was nothing to choose from between the teams, a sign perhaps that Blackwell's Leeds can challenge the top sides next season, or had Ipswich already resigned themselves to the play-offs?
Leeds began to turn up the pressure on Ipswich after the first ten minutes of the second half.
Ian Moore cut the ball across the box and it came back off the post where it was cleared to safety and then Darren Bent became the first man to be booked for a tackle from behind on Michael Gray.
Kuqi threatened to undo Leeds with a breakaway goal when he was allowed to make 50 yards on his run upfield but Gray used his experience to block out the shot and then when the ball broke favorably for Bent on the right hand side of the penalty area, he drilled it wide across the face of goal.
A fumble at the back from the Ipswich defence allowed Rob Hulse to get goalside with the ball at his feet but pushed out wide and some 20-yards out from goal, he didn't quite get the right angle on his shot and Ipswich survived.
Gylfi Einarsson's afternoon came to an end after 67 minutes when he went down injured for the second time, Simon Walton came on in his place.
Things looked bad for the substitute though after barely a minute on the pitch when it became apparent Walton had torn his hamstring and was forced to leave the pitch! That meant Jermaine Wright came on against his former club.
Ipswich used all their subs up when Darren Currie came on with 20 minutes left to play, Ian Westlake and Drissa Diallo having already come on for the Tractor Boys.
Rob Hulse had the ball in the back of the net on 72 minutes but he was clearly offside when he collected the ball and the goal was ruled out.
Currie looked odds on to score with 15 minutes left as he collected a pass from Bent inside the area but Matthew Kilgallon got back and put in a saving tackle to save Sullivan from having to attempt the save.
Matthew Spring scored a free-kick from 25-yards in pre-season against Valencia but he couldn't repeat the feat in open play from the same spot as his shot was gathered up by the keeper.
Rob Hulse had been beaten into second place by David Healy's goal against Plymouth for goal of the season earlier in the week but he nearly forced a recount when he turned on the edge of the area and smacked a great shot towards goal - the ball just going the wrong side of the post.
With just two minutes left of normal time Marlon King came on for Frazer Richardson as Blackwell made his final substitution.
Right on the stroke of the end of normal time, Kuqi could have won the game for the visitors but he volleyed a cross narrowly wide. It would have given their promotion chances a real boost, instead the play-offs beckon and Ipswich have bad memories of them.
If Kuqi's miss was unfortunate then Currie's in the third minute of extra time was criminal. Darren Bent played the perfect ball into the area for him and the unfortunate substitute sidefooted the ball wide of the target.
A point for both sides at full time, promising signs for Leeds but bitter disappointment for Ipswich who missed the chance to climb to second.