Leedsunited.com 25/7/09
BLACKBURN DRAW
UNITED 1 (Beckford 50), BLACKBURN 1 (Gallagher 90 pen)
United: Higgs, Crowe (Hughes 56), Marques (Huntington 74), Kisnorbo (Michalik 56), Parker (Sheehan 69), Snodgrass, Delph (Robinson 69), Howson, Johnson (Prutton 74), Beckford (Showunmi 79), Becchio (Grella 79). Subs: Martin.
Blackburn: Robinson (Brown 60), Jacobsen (Olsson 66), Warnock, Nzonzi (Dunn 67), Nelsen, Givet (Khizanshvili 72), Roberts (Gallagher 66), Andrews, McCarthy, Diouf (Hollett 72), Pedersen (Van Heerden 73). Subs: Doran, Judge.
Referee: M Oliver.
Att: 11,885
United were entertaining Blackburn in the only pre-season friendly at Elland Road and such was the interest in the game that the kick-off was put back 15 minutes to allow many of the queueing fans the chance to gain entry to the stadium.
Simon Grayson was without injured goalkeeper Casper Ankergren, paving the way for Shane Higgs to join Jason Crowe and Patrick Kisnorbo in the Elland Road debut stakes.
But it was an older face who almost broke the deadlock inside the opening three minutes when Luciano Becchio tried his luck from distance, lifting a speculative effort narrowly over the bar.
Becchio was also involved in almost creating a good opportunity for Jermaine Beckford, but former Leeds goalkeeper Paul Robinson reacted well to force a corner.
And, on eight minutes, Leeds were denied by the upright. Fabian Delph made a terrific, surging run forward and while his shot beat Robinson, it also clipped the outside of the post.
Moments later, Delph picked out Beckford with a stunning cross-field pass and Beckford's lobbed finish was cleared by the head of a Blackburn defender.
United had started in terrific fashion, passing the ball quickly, causing all manner of problems, and Grayson's men almost profited from an own goal on 15 minutes when a header hit the post. The ball came back to Beckford, but his hooked shot was just over the bar.
When Blackburn came forward, Higgs collected a Diouf free-kick and Rui Marques got in a good block to force a corner when under pressure from Jason Roberts.
But it was Leeds who continued to look the more dangerous and after Crowe and Becchio linked up on the right, the South American curled a shot wide of the mark.
As the game headed towards half-time, Robinson was called upon again to beat away a good strike from Beckford. The Blackburn goalkeeper found Becchio's follow-up easier to deal with.
The visitors did have another opportunity on 41 minutes with a free-kick on the edge of the box, but Morten Gamst Pedersen's effort failed to trouble Higgs in the United goal.
Higgs was called upon moments later to come off his line to deny Roberts after some good play led to Blackburn creating an opening.
There was a moment of concern on the stroke of half-time when Robert Snodgrass received treatmenty on a knock, and the Scot limped frm the field for the remaining seconds of the half.
Snodgrass returned for the second period and immediately Leeds threatened with Beckford having a shot deflected for a corner.
And there were acrobatics from Robinson on 49 minutes when the former Leeds goalkeeper turned a Snodgrass shot around the post.
But the opening goal came from the resultant corner. Snodgrass whipped the ball in, Becchio deftly nodded the ball on, and Beckford flicked the ball home with a delightful finish.
Almost immediately, Higgs was called upon to make a superb double save, first from Roberts then Diouf, who followed up with a powerful effort.
The goal and subsequent saves prompted the Kop into some good humoured banter with Blackburn goalkeeper Robinson who had learnt his trade at Elland Road.
Robinson had made some terrific saves and he pulled off another one on 54 minutes from a Bradley Johnson free-kick. Six minutes later his afternoon ended when he was substituted, but he was quick to throw his gloves into the Kop as he left the field to a terrific ovation.
Substitutions became the regular feature during the midway period of the second half and, as is often the case in pre-season games, the early impetus was lost as fresh faces looked to adapt to the pace.
Blackburn had enjoyed more ball in the second period, but as the game hit the 75-mark minute, the visitors were still looking to force a decent opening with Leeds defending well.
Paul Gallagher and David Dunn tried their luck from distance for Rovers, and both sides had penalty appealed waved away by referee Mike Oliver as the game entered the final five minutes.
Oliver relented on 90 minutes, though, when he pointed to the spot after Alan Sheehan was adjudged to have fouled Benni McCarthy. Gallagher duly converted with a crisp penalty to level the scores.
Yorkshire Evening Post 25/7/09
Grayson's delight at netting his top target
By Phil Hay
Leeds United manager Simon Grayson has described the capture of defender Patrick Kisnorbo as "a big coup" which highlights the pulling-power of Elland Road.
United out-manoeuvred a handful of clubs in the Championship to sign Kisnorbo on a free transfer on Wednesday, and Grayson admitted he had secured his "number one target" by landing the Australian international.Leeds identified Kisnorbo as a possible signing at the start of the summer but the centre-back, who left Leicester City after his contract expired in May, was expected to land a deal in the Championship and he completed a short trial at Derby County earlier this month.
Grayson was forced to be patient while Kisnorbo assessed his options thoroughly but though Crystal Palace were keen on taking him to London, the 28-year-old settled on another season in League One by accepting United's offer of a two-year contract this week.
Grayson said: "It's a big coup for us. When you've got teams in the Championship chasing him and he decides to come here, it says a lot about the player and a lot about this club.
"As soon as I knew he was available, he was one of the targets we wanted to go for, but you have to wait for certain things to happen. He's been away on holiday and he also wanted to test the water in the Championship.
"Things never develop quickly but even when those teams did offer him something, we were in there as well and he wanted to come here. He's going to be a great signing for us."
The capture of Kisnorbo has added depth to the area of Grayson's squad which has looked weakest during pre-season, a period in which Leeds have conceded nine goals in five first-team friendlies.
Grayson's attempts to work on his defence have been hindered by injuries to Richard Naylor and Rui Marques – Naylor has not featured in any of the club's matches so far while Marques completed his first summer outing at Grimsby Town on Tuesday night – but Kisnorbo was due to make his debut against Blackburn Rovers at Elland Road today and he is bringing solid Championship experience to United's squad.
The former Heart of Midlothian player was at one time Leicester's captain, and he has emerged as a possible candidate to carry the armband at the start of next season with Naylor unlikely to be fit for the first weekend of the term.
Grayson said: "You could compare him to Richard. He’s a leader and a no-nonsense defender.“We’ve now got five centre-halves on our books and we don’t look too bad in either of the full-back positions so we’ve got decent cover all over.
“I’m not going to say that we’re fully satisfied because we could still go out and sign another defender if I feel that’s the way to go.”
BLACKBURN DRAW
UNITED 1 (Beckford 50), BLACKBURN 1 (Gallagher 90 pen)
United: Higgs, Crowe (Hughes 56), Marques (Huntington 74), Kisnorbo (Michalik 56), Parker (Sheehan 69), Snodgrass, Delph (Robinson 69), Howson, Johnson (Prutton 74), Beckford (Showunmi 79), Becchio (Grella 79). Subs: Martin.
Blackburn: Robinson (Brown 60), Jacobsen (Olsson 66), Warnock, Nzonzi (Dunn 67), Nelsen, Givet (Khizanshvili 72), Roberts (Gallagher 66), Andrews, McCarthy, Diouf (Hollett 72), Pedersen (Van Heerden 73). Subs: Doran, Judge.
Referee: M Oliver.
Att: 11,885
United were entertaining Blackburn in the only pre-season friendly at Elland Road and such was the interest in the game that the kick-off was put back 15 minutes to allow many of the queueing fans the chance to gain entry to the stadium.
Simon Grayson was without injured goalkeeper Casper Ankergren, paving the way for Shane Higgs to join Jason Crowe and Patrick Kisnorbo in the Elland Road debut stakes.
But it was an older face who almost broke the deadlock inside the opening three minutes when Luciano Becchio tried his luck from distance, lifting a speculative effort narrowly over the bar.
Becchio was also involved in almost creating a good opportunity for Jermaine Beckford, but former Leeds goalkeeper Paul Robinson reacted well to force a corner.
And, on eight minutes, Leeds were denied by the upright. Fabian Delph made a terrific, surging run forward and while his shot beat Robinson, it also clipped the outside of the post.
Moments later, Delph picked out Beckford with a stunning cross-field pass and Beckford's lobbed finish was cleared by the head of a Blackburn defender.
United had started in terrific fashion, passing the ball quickly, causing all manner of problems, and Grayson's men almost profited from an own goal on 15 minutes when a header hit the post. The ball came back to Beckford, but his hooked shot was just over the bar.
When Blackburn came forward, Higgs collected a Diouf free-kick and Rui Marques got in a good block to force a corner when under pressure from Jason Roberts.
But it was Leeds who continued to look the more dangerous and after Crowe and Becchio linked up on the right, the South American curled a shot wide of the mark.
As the game headed towards half-time, Robinson was called upon again to beat away a good strike from Beckford. The Blackburn goalkeeper found Becchio's follow-up easier to deal with.
The visitors did have another opportunity on 41 minutes with a free-kick on the edge of the box, but Morten Gamst Pedersen's effort failed to trouble Higgs in the United goal.
Higgs was called upon moments later to come off his line to deny Roberts after some good play led to Blackburn creating an opening.
There was a moment of concern on the stroke of half-time when Robert Snodgrass received treatmenty on a knock, and the Scot limped frm the field for the remaining seconds of the half.
Snodgrass returned for the second period and immediately Leeds threatened with Beckford having a shot deflected for a corner.
And there were acrobatics from Robinson on 49 minutes when the former Leeds goalkeeper turned a Snodgrass shot around the post.
But the opening goal came from the resultant corner. Snodgrass whipped the ball in, Becchio deftly nodded the ball on, and Beckford flicked the ball home with a delightful finish.
Almost immediately, Higgs was called upon to make a superb double save, first from Roberts then Diouf, who followed up with a powerful effort.
The goal and subsequent saves prompted the Kop into some good humoured banter with Blackburn goalkeeper Robinson who had learnt his trade at Elland Road.
Robinson had made some terrific saves and he pulled off another one on 54 minutes from a Bradley Johnson free-kick. Six minutes later his afternoon ended when he was substituted, but he was quick to throw his gloves into the Kop as he left the field to a terrific ovation.
Substitutions became the regular feature during the midway period of the second half and, as is often the case in pre-season games, the early impetus was lost as fresh faces looked to adapt to the pace.
Blackburn had enjoyed more ball in the second period, but as the game hit the 75-mark minute, the visitors were still looking to force a decent opening with Leeds defending well.
Paul Gallagher and David Dunn tried their luck from distance for Rovers, and both sides had penalty appealed waved away by referee Mike Oliver as the game entered the final five minutes.
Oliver relented on 90 minutes, though, when he pointed to the spot after Alan Sheehan was adjudged to have fouled Benni McCarthy. Gallagher duly converted with a crisp penalty to level the scores.
Yorkshire Evening Post 25/7/09
Grayson's delight at netting his top target
By Phil Hay
Leeds United manager Simon Grayson has described the capture of defender Patrick Kisnorbo as "a big coup" which highlights the pulling-power of Elland Road.
United out-manoeuvred a handful of clubs in the Championship to sign Kisnorbo on a free transfer on Wednesday, and Grayson admitted he had secured his "number one target" by landing the Australian international.Leeds identified Kisnorbo as a possible signing at the start of the summer but the centre-back, who left Leicester City after his contract expired in May, was expected to land a deal in the Championship and he completed a short trial at Derby County earlier this month.
Grayson was forced to be patient while Kisnorbo assessed his options thoroughly but though Crystal Palace were keen on taking him to London, the 28-year-old settled on another season in League One by accepting United's offer of a two-year contract this week.
Grayson said: "It's a big coup for us. When you've got teams in the Championship chasing him and he decides to come here, it says a lot about the player and a lot about this club.
"As soon as I knew he was available, he was one of the targets we wanted to go for, but you have to wait for certain things to happen. He's been away on holiday and he also wanted to test the water in the Championship.
"Things never develop quickly but even when those teams did offer him something, we were in there as well and he wanted to come here. He's going to be a great signing for us."
The capture of Kisnorbo has added depth to the area of Grayson's squad which has looked weakest during pre-season, a period in which Leeds have conceded nine goals in five first-team friendlies.
Grayson's attempts to work on his defence have been hindered by injuries to Richard Naylor and Rui Marques – Naylor has not featured in any of the club's matches so far while Marques completed his first summer outing at Grimsby Town on Tuesday night – but Kisnorbo was due to make his debut against Blackburn Rovers at Elland Road today and he is bringing solid Championship experience to United's squad.
The former Heart of Midlothian player was at one time Leicester's captain, and he has emerged as a possible candidate to carry the armband at the start of next season with Naylor unlikely to be fit for the first weekend of the term.
Grayson said: "You could compare him to Richard. He’s a leader and a no-nonsense defender.“We’ve now got five centre-halves on our books and we don’t look too bad in either of the full-back positions so we’ve got decent cover all over.
“I’m not going to say that we’re fully satisfied because we could still go out and sign another defender if I feel that’s the way to go.”