Yorkshire Evening Post 6/4/09
In-form Whites just can't bridge the gap
By Phil Hay
Colchester 0 Leeds United 1Peterborough United are in that region of football's landscape known as dreamland, according to one of their supporters given airtime by a national radio show on Saturday night.
There is indeed an element of fantasy – something undeniably Ferguson-esque – about the club's heat proof exterior. Not for the first time, Leeds United asked questions of it at Colchester on Saturday and were met by the unhelpful answers they have come to expect from the team from London Road.
It was obvious to Simon Grayson from the outset that Leeds United's promotion this season would depend not only on the competence of his players but on the fallibility of other competitive clubs and he can be forgiven for asking if, during the past month at least, his squad have deserved better.
Leeds' efficient victory at Colchester United was the latest in a striking sequence of five, a passage of league results like no other they have maintained this season, yet it is painfully true that Grayson's squad are no closer to Peterborough – and, more pertinently, the golden goose of automatic promotion – than they were when that run began on March 10.
A gap in Peterborough's armour appeared fleetingly on Saturday afternoon as they shared parity with Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park, but a winning goal four minutes from time saw Ferguson's side safely through a potential moment of weakness.Leeds are to fulfil their game in hand over Peterborough at Leyton Orient tomorrow evening, raising the prospect that the Posh's overwhelming lead of 10 points will at last be trimmed, but each passing game widens the gulf between United and second position.
It is a helpless position for a spirited club whose own form could not be more stirring.The weeks of March, which proved sufficiently successful to earn Grayson a nomination for League One's manager of the month award, were characterised by Leeds' ambition and occasional brilliance and a more reserved performance at Colchester in their first April fixture was, nevertheless, the height of professionalism.
Caught in the mundane region of mid-table, Colchester have only pride to play for, though a manager with Paul Lambert's background would consider that enough of an incentive to keep his squad interested during the last few weeks of the season.
Dangerous at their best, ordinary at their worst and only a handful of well-chosen signings away from becoming a more competitive League One team, the Essex club were opposition against whom Grayson expected more than a routine test.
United's manager took stock of Colchester's strengths and adopted the appropriate tactics, encouraging his team to probe repeatedly for holes in their defence while holding their shape and stifling central midfielders Kem Izzet and David Perkins.
One opportunity created by Leeds' persistence in attack was all Luciano Becchio required to open the scoring in the 29th minute and United sensed immediately that one goal might be as much as they required to put Colchester to the sword.
The flawless defensive display with which Leeds saw out the remaining hour – an hour in which goalscoring opportunities were almost non-existent – was not encouraged by a lack of ambition but by a desire to guarantee a creditable and necessary away victory without needless extravagance.
It will, in Grayson's mind, stand out as one of the better performances of his three months as manager. His players were creative in patches, pragmatic in others and realistic enough to accept that the lead given to them by Becchio's finish was potentially match-winning against a team who score few goals at home and therefore worth protecting.
Peterborough may have refused to play into United's hand by shedding points at Boundary Park but, while automatic promotion is still a distant aim, the effect of nine matches without defeat – and more specifically their five straight wins – has been to leave Leeds perfectly placed to receive the valuable second prize of a place in the play-offs.
There was, at full-time, a temptation to feel deflated when news of Peterborough's winner seeped through to Colchester, but it is convenient to forget how challenging a target a top-six finish appeared to be when Grayson was recruited in December.
Nineteen games later, United's total of 71 points – 39 more than they held on the day of his appointment – shows the progress made.
The club have, to the 39-year-old's relief and delight, approached their peak at the most suitable time and Leeds' assurance at Colchester's Community Stadium underpinned their most convincing away victory since Grayson's first, a 3-1 win at Stockport County on December 28.
The pristine venue, which opened at the start of this season and which replaced the nostalgic but decrepit Layer Road, attracted a capacity and record crowd on Saturday, a factor which Leeds have not coped with consistently well this season.
Their form away from home was a concern for many months, but Grayson's players were untouched by the atmosphere and shaded a high-quality first half by producing the type of chances their two strikers have thrived on throughout the season.
United placed deliberate strain on a central defensive pairing of Pat Baldwin and Neal Trotman which seemed fragile from the start and Jermaine Beckford should have scored twice in the opening 16 minutes.
Firstly his heavy touch carried a through-ball from Jonathan Douglas out of play and then he chipped an inaccurate finish over advancing keeper Mark Cousins and wide of a post.
On both occasions incisive passing cut through gaps in the home defence, but Colchester were as ambitious in attack and ultimately more regretful about their failure to take the lead.
Karl Hawley was denied in the eighth minute when Casper Ankergren turned the striker's low shot around his right-hand post and an essential nudge from the keeper deflected Mark Yeates' effort over his crossbar on a rare occasion when Colchester disrupted United's shape.
The involvement of Beckford in the opening half-hour indicated that the match would be another in which his quality would prove decisive, but it was Becchio, his tireless attacking partner, who opened the scoring shortly after 29 minutes.
The forward received a pass from Jonathan Howson on the edge of Colchester's box and, in the absence of a firm challenge from either Baldwin or Trotman, he side-stepped into space and rifled a left-footed finish high into Cousins' net.
Becchio's goal was the least he deserved for a sparkling performance in a demanding role, always under pressure and often in isolation. Yeates soon retaliated by thumping a 20-yard shot inches wide, but Becchio headed onto the roof of Cousins' net and Beckford was denied by an excellent save in the final minute of the half, vindicating United's lead.
Grayson could not have realised it, but that was essentially that.
In contrast to the first 45 minutes, the second half passed without notable incident, other than a half-hearted scuffle five minutes from time caused by Simon Hackney raising his studs in a poor challenge on Robert Snodgrass.
Hackney was booked along with United captain Richard Naylor, who ended a day of collective professionalism with blood on his face and stitches in his scalp. His immediate task is to prove his fitness for tomorrow’s game at Leyton Orient and what may be United’s last chance to test Peterborough’s constitution.
In-form Whites just can't bridge the gap
By Phil Hay
Colchester 0 Leeds United 1Peterborough United are in that region of football's landscape known as dreamland, according to one of their supporters given airtime by a national radio show on Saturday night.
There is indeed an element of fantasy – something undeniably Ferguson-esque – about the club's heat proof exterior. Not for the first time, Leeds United asked questions of it at Colchester on Saturday and were met by the unhelpful answers they have come to expect from the team from London Road.
It was obvious to Simon Grayson from the outset that Leeds United's promotion this season would depend not only on the competence of his players but on the fallibility of other competitive clubs and he can be forgiven for asking if, during the past month at least, his squad have deserved better.
Leeds' efficient victory at Colchester United was the latest in a striking sequence of five, a passage of league results like no other they have maintained this season, yet it is painfully true that Grayson's squad are no closer to Peterborough – and, more pertinently, the golden goose of automatic promotion – than they were when that run began on March 10.
A gap in Peterborough's armour appeared fleetingly on Saturday afternoon as they shared parity with Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park, but a winning goal four minutes from time saw Ferguson's side safely through a potential moment of weakness.Leeds are to fulfil their game in hand over Peterborough at Leyton Orient tomorrow evening, raising the prospect that the Posh's overwhelming lead of 10 points will at last be trimmed, but each passing game widens the gulf between United and second position.
It is a helpless position for a spirited club whose own form could not be more stirring.The weeks of March, which proved sufficiently successful to earn Grayson a nomination for League One's manager of the month award, were characterised by Leeds' ambition and occasional brilliance and a more reserved performance at Colchester in their first April fixture was, nevertheless, the height of professionalism.
Caught in the mundane region of mid-table, Colchester have only pride to play for, though a manager with Paul Lambert's background would consider that enough of an incentive to keep his squad interested during the last few weeks of the season.
Dangerous at their best, ordinary at their worst and only a handful of well-chosen signings away from becoming a more competitive League One team, the Essex club were opposition against whom Grayson expected more than a routine test.
United's manager took stock of Colchester's strengths and adopted the appropriate tactics, encouraging his team to probe repeatedly for holes in their defence while holding their shape and stifling central midfielders Kem Izzet and David Perkins.
One opportunity created by Leeds' persistence in attack was all Luciano Becchio required to open the scoring in the 29th minute and United sensed immediately that one goal might be as much as they required to put Colchester to the sword.
The flawless defensive display with which Leeds saw out the remaining hour – an hour in which goalscoring opportunities were almost non-existent – was not encouraged by a lack of ambition but by a desire to guarantee a creditable and necessary away victory without needless extravagance.
It will, in Grayson's mind, stand out as one of the better performances of his three months as manager. His players were creative in patches, pragmatic in others and realistic enough to accept that the lead given to them by Becchio's finish was potentially match-winning against a team who score few goals at home and therefore worth protecting.
Peterborough may have refused to play into United's hand by shedding points at Boundary Park but, while automatic promotion is still a distant aim, the effect of nine matches without defeat – and more specifically their five straight wins – has been to leave Leeds perfectly placed to receive the valuable second prize of a place in the play-offs.
There was, at full-time, a temptation to feel deflated when news of Peterborough's winner seeped through to Colchester, but it is convenient to forget how challenging a target a top-six finish appeared to be when Grayson was recruited in December.
Nineteen games later, United's total of 71 points – 39 more than they held on the day of his appointment – shows the progress made.
The club have, to the 39-year-old's relief and delight, approached their peak at the most suitable time and Leeds' assurance at Colchester's Community Stadium underpinned their most convincing away victory since Grayson's first, a 3-1 win at Stockport County on December 28.
The pristine venue, which opened at the start of this season and which replaced the nostalgic but decrepit Layer Road, attracted a capacity and record crowd on Saturday, a factor which Leeds have not coped with consistently well this season.
Their form away from home was a concern for many months, but Grayson's players were untouched by the atmosphere and shaded a high-quality first half by producing the type of chances their two strikers have thrived on throughout the season.
United placed deliberate strain on a central defensive pairing of Pat Baldwin and Neal Trotman which seemed fragile from the start and Jermaine Beckford should have scored twice in the opening 16 minutes.
Firstly his heavy touch carried a through-ball from Jonathan Douglas out of play and then he chipped an inaccurate finish over advancing keeper Mark Cousins and wide of a post.
On both occasions incisive passing cut through gaps in the home defence, but Colchester were as ambitious in attack and ultimately more regretful about their failure to take the lead.
Karl Hawley was denied in the eighth minute when Casper Ankergren turned the striker's low shot around his right-hand post and an essential nudge from the keeper deflected Mark Yeates' effort over his crossbar on a rare occasion when Colchester disrupted United's shape.
The involvement of Beckford in the opening half-hour indicated that the match would be another in which his quality would prove decisive, but it was Becchio, his tireless attacking partner, who opened the scoring shortly after 29 minutes.
The forward received a pass from Jonathan Howson on the edge of Colchester's box and, in the absence of a firm challenge from either Baldwin or Trotman, he side-stepped into space and rifled a left-footed finish high into Cousins' net.
Becchio's goal was the least he deserved for a sparkling performance in a demanding role, always under pressure and often in isolation. Yeates soon retaliated by thumping a 20-yard shot inches wide, but Becchio headed onto the roof of Cousins' net and Beckford was denied by an excellent save in the final minute of the half, vindicating United's lead.
Grayson could not have realised it, but that was essentially that.
In contrast to the first 45 minutes, the second half passed without notable incident, other than a half-hearted scuffle five minutes from time caused by Simon Hackney raising his studs in a poor challenge on Robert Snodgrass.
Hackney was booked along with United captain Richard Naylor, who ended a day of collective professionalism with blood on his face and stitches in his scalp. His immediate task is to prove his fitness for tomorrow’s game at Leyton Orient and what may be United’s last chance to test Peterborough’s constitution.
