Yorkshire Evening Post 24/8/11
Doncaster Rovers 1 Leeds United 2: Nunez double gets Whites out of jail
AN exhilarating skirmish with West Ham United on Sunday left little doubt about the make-up of Leeds United’s strongest available team. Last night’s visit to Doncaster Rovers, where Leeds staved off an early exit from the Carling Cup, all
but confirmed the pecking order at Elland Road – with one exception.
The club’s outing at a half-full Keepmoat Stadium was a chance for players on the periphery of Grayson’s regular line-up to fight their corner and catch his eye, but the bulk of United’s team should pick itself in Ipswich this weekend after their scramble into the League Cup’s third round.
Nunez posed the only serious question mark by scoring twice in fine style and settling the tie in normal time.
His sublime volleys were the sum of United’s performance, coming in either half and freeing Leeds of the mediocrity that constrained them for an hour.
Doncaster’s night was trouble-free for much of the game but having taken a second-minute lead through James Hayter and exerted enough control to win the match before the interval, they ran out of steam and found Nunez lurking in wait.
United’s presence in the third round draw relied entirely on his deadly precision.
Leeds have profited regularly enough from the Carling Cup and the FA Cup to give both competitions serious attention but it was not difficult to guess the order of Grayson’s priorities last night.
The club’s 2-2 draw at Upton Park 48 hours earlier was one good reason to rest players and Saturday’s match against Ipswich – the last before the season’s first international break – gave him another.
Grayson was not about to risk a league fixture on progression beyond the second round of the League Cup.
Six changes revised three-quarters of United’s team, leaving only their strikeforce of Ross McCormack and Andy Keogh untouched. Doncaster’s line-up showed just three and their familiarity – or United’s lack of it – paid off instantly.
In an inauspicious start, goalkeeper Paul Rachubka took to the field for his competitive debut and was beaten inside two minutes by a basic goal. Giles Barnes crossed unopposed into United’s area and a touch from Hayter nudged the ball into the net. Rachubka was already committed when the deflection flew to his left.
The unravelling of Grayson’s defence continued apace as Richard Naylor, United’s former club captain and a defender released by Grayson in May, skewed a free header against Andy O’Brien and Mustapha Dumbuya whipped a cross in front of Rachubka after cutting unopposed along the byline.
Rachubka’s diving block beat away a volley from Kyle Bennett nine minutes later.
Players who Grayson said “needed a game” struggled to conceal their rustiness.
The influence of Barnes on the right wing underpinned Doncaster’s dominance, and the pressure on left-back Aidan White brought the game’s first booking in the eighth minute after White clipped Dumbuya’s heels.
When Barnes began tying the young defender in knots shortly after, it seemed that Grayson might need to protect White from a second caution by substituting him. As a whole, United’s early demeanour was one of disarray.
The width of a post denied Doncaster a second goal in the 21st minute when a through-ball to Bennett forced Rachubka to look on as the winger curled the ball around him and against the inside of an upright.
The flamboyance of Bennett’s finish with only Rachubka to beat bordered on wasteful, and Sean O’Driscoll came to rue that miss when Nunez equalised on the half-hour through nothing more than a half-chance.
Andy Keogh’s flick guided Rachubka’s clearance to the corner of Doncaster’s box, and Nunez punished a lax defence by driving an instinctive volley which looped over Gary Woods and into the far side of his net.
It was the first time that Doncaster’s keeper had been remotely troubled.
The equaliser spared Grayson from the early substitutions which seemed unavoidable for as long as Doncaster dictated the flow of the match. United’s bench featured Adam Clayton, Max Gradel and Robert Snodgrass but, so soon after the exertions of West Ham, the ideal scenario was a tie that left all three players unused.
The start of the second half did not bode well.
Shortly after the restart, Rachubka showed his agility again by diving to parry Bennett’s header after Dumbuya’s cross reached the back post, and Barnes’ short corner five minutes later found Sam Hird wandering into space inside United’s area. Hird’s shot against Jonathan Howson’s elbow raised vociferous appeals for a penalty but prised no award from referee Mark Brown.
White’s exhausting shift ended after an hour with academy graduate Charlie Taylor stepping into the breach, and Gradel replaced McCormack in quick succession.
United’s only chance in between was a lay-off from Nunez to Keogh after Naylor misjudged a high ball towards Doncaster’s box, but Keogh’s wild finish sliced the ball wide.
But Rovers began to flag as normal time ticked away and Rachubka became a grateful spectator, bothered only when Mark Wilson’s attempt from 20 yards slipped off his hands and bounced behind.
Gradel threatened with a bursting run and shot which climbed over Doncaster’s bar, and the tie was won by Nunez when the Honduran international found the corner of Wood’s net with a deadly volley from 20 yards, seven minutes from the end of the match.
Doncaster’s fortune deserted them for a final time as a last shot in anger from Bennett caught the outside of a post.
Doncaster Rovers 1 Leeds United 2: Nunez double gets Whites out of jail
AN exhilarating skirmish with West Ham United on Sunday left little doubt about the make-up of Leeds United’s strongest available team. Last night’s visit to Doncaster Rovers, where Leeds staved off an early exit from the Carling Cup, all
but confirmed the pecking order at Elland Road – with one exception.
The club’s outing at a half-full Keepmoat Stadium was a chance for players on the periphery of Grayson’s regular line-up to fight their corner and catch his eye, but the bulk of United’s team should pick itself in Ipswich this weekend after their scramble into the League Cup’s third round.
Nunez posed the only serious question mark by scoring twice in fine style and settling the tie in normal time.
His sublime volleys were the sum of United’s performance, coming in either half and freeing Leeds of the mediocrity that constrained them for an hour.
Doncaster’s night was trouble-free for much of the game but having taken a second-minute lead through James Hayter and exerted enough control to win the match before the interval, they ran out of steam and found Nunez lurking in wait.
United’s presence in the third round draw relied entirely on his deadly precision.
Leeds have profited regularly enough from the Carling Cup and the FA Cup to give both competitions serious attention but it was not difficult to guess the order of Grayson’s priorities last night.
The club’s 2-2 draw at Upton Park 48 hours earlier was one good reason to rest players and Saturday’s match against Ipswich – the last before the season’s first international break – gave him another.
Grayson was not about to risk a league fixture on progression beyond the second round of the League Cup.
Six changes revised three-quarters of United’s team, leaving only their strikeforce of Ross McCormack and Andy Keogh untouched. Doncaster’s line-up showed just three and their familiarity – or United’s lack of it – paid off instantly.
In an inauspicious start, goalkeeper Paul Rachubka took to the field for his competitive debut and was beaten inside two minutes by a basic goal. Giles Barnes crossed unopposed into United’s area and a touch from Hayter nudged the ball into the net. Rachubka was already committed when the deflection flew to his left.
The unravelling of Grayson’s defence continued apace as Richard Naylor, United’s former club captain and a defender released by Grayson in May, skewed a free header against Andy O’Brien and Mustapha Dumbuya whipped a cross in front of Rachubka after cutting unopposed along the byline.
Rachubka’s diving block beat away a volley from Kyle Bennett nine minutes later.
Players who Grayson said “needed a game” struggled to conceal their rustiness.
The influence of Barnes on the right wing underpinned Doncaster’s dominance, and the pressure on left-back Aidan White brought the game’s first booking in the eighth minute after White clipped Dumbuya’s heels.
When Barnes began tying the young defender in knots shortly after, it seemed that Grayson might need to protect White from a second caution by substituting him. As a whole, United’s early demeanour was one of disarray.
The width of a post denied Doncaster a second goal in the 21st minute when a through-ball to Bennett forced Rachubka to look on as the winger curled the ball around him and against the inside of an upright.
The flamboyance of Bennett’s finish with only Rachubka to beat bordered on wasteful, and Sean O’Driscoll came to rue that miss when Nunez equalised on the half-hour through nothing more than a half-chance.
Andy Keogh’s flick guided Rachubka’s clearance to the corner of Doncaster’s box, and Nunez punished a lax defence by driving an instinctive volley which looped over Gary Woods and into the far side of his net.
It was the first time that Doncaster’s keeper had been remotely troubled.
The equaliser spared Grayson from the early substitutions which seemed unavoidable for as long as Doncaster dictated the flow of the match. United’s bench featured Adam Clayton, Max Gradel and Robert Snodgrass but, so soon after the exertions of West Ham, the ideal scenario was a tie that left all three players unused.
The start of the second half did not bode well.
Shortly after the restart, Rachubka showed his agility again by diving to parry Bennett’s header after Dumbuya’s cross reached the back post, and Barnes’ short corner five minutes later found Sam Hird wandering into space inside United’s area. Hird’s shot against Jonathan Howson’s elbow raised vociferous appeals for a penalty but prised no award from referee Mark Brown.
White’s exhausting shift ended after an hour with academy graduate Charlie Taylor stepping into the breach, and Gradel replaced McCormack in quick succession.
United’s only chance in between was a lay-off from Nunez to Keogh after Naylor misjudged a high ball towards Doncaster’s box, but Keogh’s wild finish sliced the ball wide.
But Rovers began to flag as normal time ticked away and Rachubka became a grateful spectator, bothered only when Mark Wilson’s attempt from 20 yards slipped off his hands and bounced behind.
Gradel threatened with a bursting run and shot which climbed over Doncaster’s bar, and the tie was won by Nunez when the Honduran international found the corner of Wood’s net with a deadly volley from 20 yards, seven minutes from the end of the match.
Doncaster’s fortune deserted them for a final time as a last shot in anger from Bennett caught the outside of a post.