Dougie Double: United 2 Hull 0
leedsunited.com
A double from Jonathan Douglas gave Leeds their third straight win in an entertaining derby with Hull in front of the biggest crowd Elland Road his seen this season.
Pre-Match
United boss Kevin Blackwell made two changes to the side that beat Stoke on Wednesday night, one of the changes forced on him through injury.
Left-back Dan Harding took a knock that he
failed to recover from in time and he missed the chance to impress at first hand the England under-21 coach, Peter Taylor, manager of the opposition. Stephen Crainey came in for his first start since September.
The other change saw David Healy, somewhat withdrawn in recent games, dropped to the bench with Liam Miller coming in on the right hand side of midfield.
Hull had a surprise of their own for Leeds, dropping former United and England midfielder Nick Barmby to the bench on his first return to Elland Road.
The Match
A crowd of 26,387 turned up to watch the game and were not disappointed, well at least the 25,000 Leeds fans weren't as Leeds finished the year on a high with their third consecutive win.The opening quarter hour of this match produced little in terms of good scoring chances as both teams looked to sound each other out.
It was the visitors who just shaded it in terms of pressure, and it wth barely a minute gone Whites skipper Paul Butler was forced to pull off a good tackle on Craig Fagan to deny the Hull forward a shot on goal from inside the penalty area.
Richard Cresswell's first effort saw him put his shot high and over from a good position on the edge of the box.
Then Billy Paynter let fly with a shot from 20-yards that Neil Sullivan did well to tip over for a corner. The pressure continued as Delaney then got in a low drive that Sullivan got well behind to pull off a comfortable save.
On 16 minutes Robbie Blake showed a good turn of pace with a bit of trickery to lose his marker inside the box but his second touch just took the ball too far in front of him and the chance was gone.
Two minutes later Paul Butler was the first man booked for a challenge from behind on Fagan, referee Andy Hall laying down the law early on.
Leed should have gone ahead with 22 minutes played but Jonathan Douglas squandered a great chance. He started the move and found Robbie Blake motoring down the right hand touch-line, Blake saw no way through on the edge of the area but played a perfect ball across the face of goal for Douglas to hit first time, the shot though went hopelessly wide.
If Douglas's miss was poor then what followed from Blake was almost criminal.
A Hull attack broke down when right back Mark Lynch was left as the last man and failed to get the ball away in time before Cresswell won the tackle on him to leave Robbie Blake with a clear run on goal from the halfway line. With just the keeper to beat, Blake, normally deadly from anywhere in the box, failed to beat Boaz Myhill in the Hull goal with his shot, the ball rebounding off the keeper's legs.
Leeds should have been two goals up before the half-hour and were instead hoping the two misses would not turn out to cost them dearly.
Punishment is exactly what nearly happened too as Hull forward Fagan hit the crossbar with a curling shot from just outside the box.
United stepped up the pressure and how the deadlock was not broken before half-time became something of a mystery with Leeds then Hull
Shaun Derry hit one from 30-yards that really tested the keeper and the midfielder nearly had his first goal of the season, and his first in eight months.
Blake then volleyed a cross from outside the area but the keeper was again equal to it but a better chance fell to him second later when he met Kelly's cross from the right on the half-volley and just went wide of the left hand post. Eddie Lewis then saw his attempt deflected narrowly wide.
Still Hull nearly went ahead after being let-off for the sixth time with Fagan passing up a great chance this time. The ball broke favourably to him just on the right of the penalty area and he had a clear shot on goal but his drive produced a fantastic save by Sullivan.
A minute into injury time and the Hull defence finally yielded. A long ball forward from Kilgallon was controlled brilliantly by Blake and his simply played the ball outside to his right for Douglas to take the shot and this time the keeper was beaten by a low drive across the face of goal.
At half-time Leeds had the goal they deserved but Blackwell will have been concerned about the odd clear cut chances they were still affording Hull.
Seven minutes into the second half and Leeds were desperately unlucky not to double their lead when Cresswell cut inside and hit a right foot curling shot that came back off the right hand post. Blake won free-kick on the edge of the area after being brought down by Elliott, but the free-kick was curled into the keeper's arms by Lewis.
Another free-kick, this time from Blake 35-yards out was just diverted behind at the very last second by Myhill but he wouldn't keep Leeds out again for much longer.
Lewis took the corner and it caused mayhem for Hull as the ball bounced on top of the bar twice, both times after Cresswell got a touch and finally it was nodded in from point-blank range by Douglas for his second goal of the game.
Two goals up Leeds were all over the visitors and nearly scored a third when Cresswell got behind the back four again but couldn't quite pick Miller out with the pass.
Neil Sullivan was something of a bystander in the second half but he was called into action on 66 minutes to pluck a Keith Andrews free-kick out of the air.
Leeds kept pressing for a third and nearly got it when Cresswell turned Lewis's cross just wide of the goal. Cresswell did get the ball in the net only for the goal to be ruled out. His shot took a deflection off Myhill that saw the ball bounce up and over the keeper and just sneak into the top corner, but the referee spotted a push from Blake on a defender before he could cut the ball out. With twelve minutes remaining Leeds made a double substitution that must be the envy of all the Championship when they brought both David Healy and Rob Hulse on. Cresswell and Blake made way for the strikers who have 16 goals between them this season.
Danny Pugh came on a few minutes later to complete the changes, replacing Stephen Crainey.
Hull made a final change of their own, and it was one the Leeds fans had been looking forward to as they got the chance to taunt former Whites midfielder Nick Barmby. He came on to chants of 'what a waste of money', having failed to impress after his £2.75m move to Elland Road that last one season.
David Healy could have got his name on the scoresheet right on the 90th minute when a clearance from the keeper fell right to him and with Myhill well off his line he tried to chip the ball in but it landed just behind the goal.The points were secure though and there were no complaints from anyone inside Elland Road about the result as Leeds wrapped up their third win of the festive season.
leedsunited.com
A double from Jonathan Douglas gave Leeds their third straight win in an entertaining derby with Hull in front of the biggest crowd Elland Road his seen this season.
Pre-Match
United boss Kevin Blackwell made two changes to the side that beat Stoke on Wednesday night, one of the changes forced on him through injury.
Left-back Dan Harding took a knock that he
failed to recover from in time and he missed the chance to impress at first hand the England under-21 coach, Peter Taylor, manager of the opposition. Stephen Crainey came in for his first start since September.The other change saw David Healy, somewhat withdrawn in recent games, dropped to the bench with Liam Miller coming in on the right hand side of midfield.
Hull had a surprise of their own for Leeds, dropping former United and England midfielder Nick Barmby to the bench on his first return to Elland Road.
The Match
A crowd of 26,387 turned up to watch the game and were not disappointed, well at least the 25,000 Leeds fans weren't as Leeds finished the year on a high with their third consecutive win.The opening quarter hour of this match produced little in terms of good scoring chances as both teams looked to sound each other out.
It was the visitors who just shaded it in terms of pressure, and it wth barely a minute gone Whites skipper Paul Butler was forced to pull off a good tackle on Craig Fagan to deny the Hull forward a shot on goal from inside the penalty area.
Richard Cresswell's first effort saw him put his shot high and over from a good position on the edge of the box.
Then Billy Paynter let fly with a shot from 20-yards that Neil Sullivan did well to tip over for a corner. The pressure continued as Delaney then got in a low drive that Sullivan got well behind to pull off a comfortable save.
On 16 minutes Robbie Blake showed a good turn of pace with a bit of trickery to lose his marker inside the box but his second touch just took the ball too far in front of him and the chance was gone.
Two minutes later Paul Butler was the first man booked for a challenge from behind on Fagan, referee Andy Hall laying down the law early on.
Leed should have gone ahead with 22 minutes played but Jonathan Douglas squandered a great chance. He started the move and found Robbie Blake motoring down the right hand touch-line, Blake saw no way through on the edge of the area but played a perfect ball across the face of goal for Douglas to hit first time, the shot though went hopelessly wide.
If Douglas's miss was poor then what followed from Blake was almost criminal.
A Hull attack broke down when right back Mark Lynch was left as the last man and failed to get the ball away in time before Cresswell won the tackle on him to leave Robbie Blake with a clear run on goal from the halfway line. With just the keeper to beat, Blake, normally deadly from anywhere in the box, failed to beat Boaz Myhill in the Hull goal with his shot, the ball rebounding off the keeper's legs.
Leeds should have been two goals up before the half-hour and were instead hoping the two misses would not turn out to cost them dearly.
Punishment is exactly what nearly happened too as Hull forward Fagan hit the crossbar with a curling shot from just outside the box.
United stepped up the pressure and how the deadlock was not broken before half-time became something of a mystery with Leeds then Hull
Shaun Derry hit one from 30-yards that really tested the keeper and the midfielder nearly had his first goal of the season, and his first in eight months.
Blake then volleyed a cross from outside the area but the keeper was again equal to it but a better chance fell to him second later when he met Kelly's cross from the right on the half-volley and just went wide of the left hand post. Eddie Lewis then saw his attempt deflected narrowly wide.
Still Hull nearly went ahead after being let-off for the sixth time with Fagan passing up a great chance this time. The ball broke favourably to him just on the right of the penalty area and he had a clear shot on goal but his drive produced a fantastic save by Sullivan.
A minute into injury time and the Hull defence finally yielded. A long ball forward from Kilgallon was controlled brilliantly by Blake and his simply played the ball outside to his right for Douglas to take the shot and this time the keeper was beaten by a low drive across the face of goal.
At half-time Leeds had the goal they deserved but Blackwell will have been concerned about the odd clear cut chances they were still affording Hull.
Seven minutes into the second half and Leeds were desperately unlucky not to double their lead when Cresswell cut inside and hit a right foot curling shot that came back off the right hand post. Blake won free-kick on the edge of the area after being brought down by Elliott, but the free-kick was curled into the keeper's arms by Lewis.
Another free-kick, this time from Blake 35-yards out was just diverted behind at the very last second by Myhill but he wouldn't keep Leeds out again for much longer.
Lewis took the corner and it caused mayhem for Hull as the ball bounced on top of the bar twice, both times after Cresswell got a touch and finally it was nodded in from point-blank range by Douglas for his second goal of the game.
Two goals up Leeds were all over the visitors and nearly scored a third when Cresswell got behind the back four again but couldn't quite pick Miller out with the pass.
Neil Sullivan was something of a bystander in the second half but he was called into action on 66 minutes to pluck a Keith Andrews free-kick out of the air.
Leeds kept pressing for a third and nearly got it when Cresswell turned Lewis's cross just wide of the goal. Cresswell did get the ball in the net only for the goal to be ruled out. His shot took a deflection off Myhill that saw the ball bounce up and over the keeper and just sneak into the top corner, but the referee spotted a push from Blake on a defender before he could cut the ball out. With twelve minutes remaining Leeds made a double substitution that must be the envy of all the Championship when they brought both David Healy and Rob Hulse on. Cresswell and Blake made way for the strikers who have 16 goals between them this season.
Danny Pugh came on a few minutes later to complete the changes, replacing Stephen Crainey.Hull made a final change of their own, and it was one the Leeds fans had been looking forward to as they got the chance to taunt former Whites midfielder Nick Barmby. He came on to chants of 'what a waste of money', having failed to impress after his £2.75m move to Elland Road that last one season.
David Healy could have got his name on the scoresheet right on the 90th minute when a clearance from the keeper fell right to him and with Myhill well off his line he tried to chip the ball in but it landed just behind the goal.The points were secure though and there were no complaints from anyone inside Elland Road about the result as Leeds wrapped up their third win of the festive season.
