Sunday Times 1/3/09
Leeds back in top six
Leeds 3 Scunthorpe 2
Duncan Hamilton
Even after two years, it seems incongruous to find Leeds locked in Division One. It is stranger still to see them straining to break out of it rather than promenading at the very top of the table.
But any notion that Leeds are now resurgent must be accompanied by a squadron of caveats, among them questions about form and temperament. The point was driven in spectacularly yesterday as Jermaine Beckford rescued them with two goals, which took his season’s tally to 25.
Leeds, who played the final 10 minutes with ten men after Howson was sent off for two yellow cards, looked certain to squander a 2-0 lead. Beckford saved them from such ignominy by picking his way like a expert locksmith through Scunthorpe’s defence in the 69th minute for his fine winner, struck from 18 yards.
While it enabled Leeds to claw their way back into the top six - before facing promotion rivals Oldham on Monday night - it was hardly convincing stuff.
As well as Beckford, Leeds were indebted to an outrageous stroke of luck and the fact Scunthorpe have lost a modicum of self-belief after four straight defeats.
Hard though it is to believe, given the intense drama which followed, the match was a scrappy stalemate until the 32nd minute. Howson found a gap inside the area and nudged the ball on to Beckford, who marked his return from suspension with a half turn and a neat clip, pushing his effort past Murphy via the foot of the near post.
The goal briefly acted like an adrenalin shot for Leeds, who moved further into the lead within five minutes, albeit with an effort drenched in good fortune. Snodgrass tapped a free kick to Johnson from the angle of the area, and his left foot shot took a thick deflection off McCann, who tried to charge it clear. With Murphy committed to his right, the ball flew into his bottom left-hand corner.
Instead of blessing what Fate had gifted them, Leeds squandered it. As half time loomed, Ankergren and Marques inexplicably got tangled up in their own indecision on the edge of the area. While this dithering went on, a disbelieving Hooper poked the ball into an empty net. Hooper’s second, six minutes after the re-start, came at the end of swerving run and from a shot finely swept in with the outside of his boot.
The afternoon, however, belonged to Beckford, who might have claimed his hat-trick in the dying moments.
Simon Grayson, the Leeds manager, thinks the second place is still ‘up for grabs’. If so, Leeds will have to improve markedly to come close to claiming it - and pray that Beckford remains fit and prolific.
Leeds back in top six
Leeds 3 Scunthorpe 2
Duncan Hamilton
Even after two years, it seems incongruous to find Leeds locked in Division One. It is stranger still to see them straining to break out of it rather than promenading at the very top of the table.
But any notion that Leeds are now resurgent must be accompanied by a squadron of caveats, among them questions about form and temperament. The point was driven in spectacularly yesterday as Jermaine Beckford rescued them with two goals, which took his season’s tally to 25.
Leeds, who played the final 10 minutes with ten men after Howson was sent off for two yellow cards, looked certain to squander a 2-0 lead. Beckford saved them from such ignominy by picking his way like a expert locksmith through Scunthorpe’s defence in the 69th minute for his fine winner, struck from 18 yards.
While it enabled Leeds to claw their way back into the top six - before facing promotion rivals Oldham on Monday night - it was hardly convincing stuff.
As well as Beckford, Leeds were indebted to an outrageous stroke of luck and the fact Scunthorpe have lost a modicum of self-belief after four straight defeats.
Hard though it is to believe, given the intense drama which followed, the match was a scrappy stalemate until the 32nd minute. Howson found a gap inside the area and nudged the ball on to Beckford, who marked his return from suspension with a half turn and a neat clip, pushing his effort past Murphy via the foot of the near post.
The goal briefly acted like an adrenalin shot for Leeds, who moved further into the lead within five minutes, albeit with an effort drenched in good fortune. Snodgrass tapped a free kick to Johnson from the angle of the area, and his left foot shot took a thick deflection off McCann, who tried to charge it clear. With Murphy committed to his right, the ball flew into his bottom left-hand corner.
Instead of blessing what Fate had gifted them, Leeds squandered it. As half time loomed, Ankergren and Marques inexplicably got tangled up in their own indecision on the edge of the area. While this dithering went on, a disbelieving Hooper poked the ball into an empty net. Hooper’s second, six minutes after the re-start, came at the end of swerving run and from a shot finely swept in with the outside of his boot.
The afternoon, however, belonged to Beckford, who might have claimed his hat-trick in the dying moments.
Simon Grayson, the Leeds manager, thinks the second place is still ‘up for grabs’. If so, Leeds will have to improve markedly to come close to claiming it - and pray that Beckford remains fit and prolific.
