Yorkshire Evening Post 31/1/12
Hitman Zigic cuts down sorry Whites
Leeds United have recently perfected the art of taking points from matches they deserved to lose.
It was harsh but somehow fitting that three were dropped last night during a game they could have won several times over.
United made no secret of their fortune in earning two wins and a draw from meetings with Burnley, Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town bu
t the well ran dry at Elland Road last night. Repeated moments of naive defending gave Birmingham City a free pass to a heavy victory.
Ross McCormack’s 19th minute strike was United’s remuneration for the best half produced by them at Elland Road all season, but their dominance subsided after Nicola Zigic converted a header 12 minutes later, at a point in the game when Simon Grayson’s side might have been out of sight.
Tom Lees, United’s burgeoning young centre-back, carried the can for the equaliser, failing to track Zigic’s run as the ball flew to the edge of the six-yard box.
Streak
After half an hour of so little promise, Birmingham snatched their equaliser gleefully and, in the style of a club on an eye-catching streak, turned the match on its head with three quick efforts from the towering Zigic in the second half.
Amid the frustration of an opportunity missed, Grayson could only find solace in the sort of performance he has strived for without great success this season.
His delight in results against the odds did not disguise the need for Leeds – outside the Championship’s play-off positions – to play better in what remains of the term. They did so for an hour but collapsed in astonishing style.
Prior to that implosion, Leeds were penetrative on both sides of the field and dynamic through the middle, and a pleasing level of understanding came to the fore against a team whose potential is no longer up for debate, despite their own ragged display.
McCormack thrived as he did during the early months of the term and Snodgrass’ endeavour explained the wisdom in retaining him on an evening when rumours of an unsuccessful bid from Blackburn Rovers abounded.
His class will only encourage more when the summer transfer market opens, and promotion continues to represent a tall order for a club who need that prize to have any chance of retaining him.
The final day of the January window came and went yesterday with only one further arrival at Elland Road, that of Tottenham Hotspur right-back Adam Smith, and the deal did not materialise in time for Grayson to include him in last night’s squad.
Grayson looked instead to the substitutes he named in United’s comical win over Ipswich Town, promoting Aidan White and Luciano Becchio from the bench and giving his line-up a more ambitious look. Birmingham’s team was fronted by a lone striker in Zigic whose height and dominance in the air underpinned City’s narrow win over Leeds at St Andrews’ in October.
He was a horrendous nuisance again at Elland Road. City’s record of five straight wins and no concessions in over seven hours of competitive football served warning of another difficult evening ahead.
The night would still have been simple from the outset had three glaring chances in the first four minutes earned Leeds as many goals.
Birmingham’s goalkeeper, Boaz Myhill, looked to his defence for help after he misjudged White’s cross and left Robert Snodgrass with a virtual tap-in at the far post, and Myhill claimed the ball gratefully seconds later when Ross McCormack’s delivery gave Becchio a chance which the Argentine backheeled into Myhill’s hands.
The former Hull City keeper was beaten when McCormack played Becchio clean through during the next passage of play but Becchio’s wayward shot to the left of Myhill’s goal was that of a striker whose all-round game steadfastly refuses to restore itself in full. He and McCormack nevertheless gelled in a way that Grayson knew they could.
By rights, Leeds should have been three goals to the good before a dishevelled Birmingham side had time to find their feet.
Snodgrass came within shooting distance of Myhill again when Fabian Delph’s beautiful crossfield pass opened up City’s defence, and Grayson found himself watching the most fluent and confident spell of football he had witnessed from his team for more weeks than he could remember.
Birmingham’s avoidance of a goal was anxious but in keeping with their recent results.
Laboured through their initial responses were, City’s first chance drew a fingertip save from Andy Lonergan who scrambled backwards to tip Chris Burke’s lob over his crossbar.
Burke saw another chance from the resulting corner but sliced his volley into the crowd.
Dangerous though those moment were, they passed in a flash, and when Curtis Davies allowed McCormack to cut into space 20 yards from goal with 19 minutes played, the Scotland international found the corner of Myhill’s net with a classy and nonchalant strike.
Chris Hughton, the Birmingham manager, had seen that setback coming and threw his arms up in exasperated rage.
The initial half-hour got no better for him or his players.
Troubled by a strange sense of unfamiliarity and beset by United’s aggression off the ball, much of the first half passed them by.
But with 30 minutes played, they snatched the softest of equalisers from a half-hearted attack.
Wade Elliott’s unchallenged cross saw Zigic react before Lees and beat Lonergan with a deadly downward header six yards from goal. Precise though the finish was, Zigic and Hughton could hardly believe their luck.
Hint
The remainder of the half petered out, with one break involving Snodgrass and McCormack the only hint of a third goal, but Zigic came close after the interval when he leapt above the small frame of Zac Thompson. Lonergan read the Serbian’s header and clutched it at his near post.
Myhill was more seriously threatened by a Becchio header at the other end of the field but knocked the ball to safety from under the bar, and he beat away a volley from the same player after McCormack slipped through Birmingham’s offside trap.
As he had at St Andrews, Myhill proved a belligerent obstacle.
His saves paid off in the 61st minute as Burke broke down the right wing, tied White in knots and laid a pass off to Zigic who lashed a powerful finish into the roof of Lonergan’s net.
Three minutes later the forward rose without a marker near him to sink Morgaro Gomis’ delivery from the right wing, and a fourth goal came his way from a simple corner in the 68th minute.
It was death but multiple cuts and not what Leeds deserved.
But their Championship results so rarely are.
Hitman Zigic cuts down sorry Whites
Leeds United have recently perfected the art of taking points from matches they deserved to lose.
It was harsh but somehow fitting that three were dropped last night during a game they could have won several times over.
United made no secret of their fortune in earning two wins and a draw from meetings with Burnley, Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town bu
t the well ran dry at Elland Road last night. Repeated moments of naive defending gave Birmingham City a free pass to a heavy victory.Ross McCormack’s 19th minute strike was United’s remuneration for the best half produced by them at Elland Road all season, but their dominance subsided after Nicola Zigic converted a header 12 minutes later, at a point in the game when Simon Grayson’s side might have been out of sight.
Tom Lees, United’s burgeoning young centre-back, carried the can for the equaliser, failing to track Zigic’s run as the ball flew to the edge of the six-yard box.
Streak
After half an hour of so little promise, Birmingham snatched their equaliser gleefully and, in the style of a club on an eye-catching streak, turned the match on its head with three quick efforts from the towering Zigic in the second half.
Amid the frustration of an opportunity missed, Grayson could only find solace in the sort of performance he has strived for without great success this season.
His delight in results against the odds did not disguise the need for Leeds – outside the Championship’s play-off positions – to play better in what remains of the term. They did so for an hour but collapsed in astonishing style.
Prior to that implosion, Leeds were penetrative on both sides of the field and dynamic through the middle, and a pleasing level of understanding came to the fore against a team whose potential is no longer up for debate, despite their own ragged display.
McCormack thrived as he did during the early months of the term and Snodgrass’ endeavour explained the wisdom in retaining him on an evening when rumours of an unsuccessful bid from Blackburn Rovers abounded.
His class will only encourage more when the summer transfer market opens, and promotion continues to represent a tall order for a club who need that prize to have any chance of retaining him.
The final day of the January window came and went yesterday with only one further arrival at Elland Road, that of Tottenham Hotspur right-back Adam Smith, and the deal did not materialise in time for Grayson to include him in last night’s squad.
Grayson looked instead to the substitutes he named in United’s comical win over Ipswich Town, promoting Aidan White and Luciano Becchio from the bench and giving his line-up a more ambitious look. Birmingham’s team was fronted by a lone striker in Zigic whose height and dominance in the air underpinned City’s narrow win over Leeds at St Andrews’ in October.
He was a horrendous nuisance again at Elland Road. City’s record of five straight wins and no concessions in over seven hours of competitive football served warning of another difficult evening ahead.
The night would still have been simple from the outset had three glaring chances in the first four minutes earned Leeds as many goals.
Birmingham’s goalkeeper, Boaz Myhill, looked to his defence for help after he misjudged White’s cross and left Robert Snodgrass with a virtual tap-in at the far post, and Myhill claimed the ball gratefully seconds later when Ross McCormack’s delivery gave Becchio a chance which the Argentine backheeled into Myhill’s hands.
The former Hull City keeper was beaten when McCormack played Becchio clean through during the next passage of play but Becchio’s wayward shot to the left of Myhill’s goal was that of a striker whose all-round game steadfastly refuses to restore itself in full. He and McCormack nevertheless gelled in a way that Grayson knew they could.
By rights, Leeds should have been three goals to the good before a dishevelled Birmingham side had time to find their feet.
Snodgrass came within shooting distance of Myhill again when Fabian Delph’s beautiful crossfield pass opened up City’s defence, and Grayson found himself watching the most fluent and confident spell of football he had witnessed from his team for more weeks than he could remember.
Birmingham’s avoidance of a goal was anxious but in keeping with their recent results.
Laboured through their initial responses were, City’s first chance drew a fingertip save from Andy Lonergan who scrambled backwards to tip Chris Burke’s lob over his crossbar.
Burke saw another chance from the resulting corner but sliced his volley into the crowd.
Dangerous though those moment were, they passed in a flash, and when Curtis Davies allowed McCormack to cut into space 20 yards from goal with 19 minutes played, the Scotland international found the corner of Myhill’s net with a classy and nonchalant strike.
Chris Hughton, the Birmingham manager, had seen that setback coming and threw his arms up in exasperated rage.
The initial half-hour got no better for him or his players.
Troubled by a strange sense of unfamiliarity and beset by United’s aggression off the ball, much of the first half passed them by.
But with 30 minutes played, they snatched the softest of equalisers from a half-hearted attack.
Wade Elliott’s unchallenged cross saw Zigic react before Lees and beat Lonergan with a deadly downward header six yards from goal. Precise though the finish was, Zigic and Hughton could hardly believe their luck.
Hint
The remainder of the half petered out, with one break involving Snodgrass and McCormack the only hint of a third goal, but Zigic came close after the interval when he leapt above the small frame of Zac Thompson. Lonergan read the Serbian’s header and clutched it at his near post.
Myhill was more seriously threatened by a Becchio header at the other end of the field but knocked the ball to safety from under the bar, and he beat away a volley from the same player after McCormack slipped through Birmingham’s offside trap.
As he had at St Andrews, Myhill proved a belligerent obstacle.
His saves paid off in the 61st minute as Burke broke down the right wing, tied White in knots and laid a pass off to Zigic who lashed a powerful finish into the roof of Lonergan’s net.
Three minutes later the forward rose without a marker near him to sink Morgaro Gomis’ delivery from the right wing, and a fourth goal came his way from a simple corner in the 68th minute.
It was death but multiple cuts and not what Leeds deserved.
But their Championship results so rarely are.