Walsall 1 Leeds United 0
YEP 20/7/13
by Phil Hay
Leeds United paid for a disjointed first half as Craig Westcarr’s goal condemned them to a third straight pre-season defeat.
Walsall punished a lacklustre performance from Brian McDermott’s side and Leeds were unable to reply to Westcarr’s early strike at the Banks’s Stadium.
United’s loss followed on from their defeats to Domzale and Ferencvaros in Slovenia and left McDermott to consider his options ahead of the opening game of the Championship season on August 3.
United’s manager named a team which was close to his strongest but Leeds struggled to contain Walsall before the break.
The hosts opened the scoring after 12 minutes when former United trainee James Baxendale accepted a through-ball from Adam Chambers and squared a pass to Westcarr who dispatched a difficult volley on the run.
Leeds created spells of pressure and a number of opportunities and Tom Lees was denied by a brilliant save from Richard O’Donnell in the 25th minute. The defender met Stephen Warnock’s corner with a firm header which Walsall’s goalkeeper pushed onto his crossbar.
Ross McCormack also failed to beat O’Donnell from close range and Matt Smith saw an effort cleared off the line by James Chambers but Baxendale wasted a good opportunity for Walsall on 35 minutes as his shot curled wide of Paddy Kenny’s far post.
McDermott introduced Dom Poleon at the start of the second half and his presence made an immediate difference. The young forward should have levelled in the 48th minute but stabbed the ball against O’Donnell’s chest and Noel Hunt’s spared Walsall again when his free header bounced wide from 10 yards.
O’Donnell frustrated Leeds further when he dived to parry a goalbound strike from Michael Tonge and Walsall found United’s defence increasingly resistant until the closing stages.
Ashley Hemmings was unable to connect as Baxendale fired the ball in front of him with only Kenny to beat on 63 minutes but Ben Purkiss should have put the win beyond doubt when he volleyed James McQuilken’s delivery over an open goal.
Aidy White almost snatched a draw late one with a spectacular volley which dropped into the crowd.
Walsall: O’Donnell (Roberts 80), J Chambers (Purkiss 65), Benning (Griffiths 80), Holden (Butler 65), Downing (Hewitt 65), Featherstone (Sawyers 65), Baxendale (Henry 80), A Chambers (McQuilken 46), Lalkovic (Mantom 65), Westcarr (George 65), Hemmings (Morris 65). Subs (not used): Flanagan, Heath.
Leeds United: Kenny, Peltier, Lees, Pearce (Pugh 80), Warnock, Green, Tonge (White 60), Murphy, McCormack, Hunt (Varney 72), Smith (Poleon 46). Subs (not used): Cairns, Brown, Norris, Thompson, Varney, Drury.
Referee: Oliver Langford (West Midlands)
Attendance: 3,900 (1,707 Leeds)
Brian McDermott admitted it was his worst day as Leeds boss since his arrival following the pre-season defeat at Walsall.
Leeds went down to a 1-0 defeat against their League One opponents and McDermott says the side is lacking energy and he is concerned just two weeks before the championship season starts.
"There is not a lot you can say. You have to move on after a performance like that really quickly and get ourselves ready for Tuesday, because I didn`t see it coming," McDermott told Yorkshire Radio.
"It was really disappointing today. There wasn`t enough energy in the team.
"You have to be concerned when you see a performance like that. I do not get carried away when we have a great victory and performance and I do not when we see a performance like we did today. We certainly don`t want to see many more like this.
"Today was the worst day I have had as the Leeds manager."
The defeat at Walsall was Leeds third in a row in pre-season and they now have just two more pre-season games to go before they kick off the championship season with a home game against Brighton and Hove Albion.
The Leeds boss fielded his strongest available team for the trip to Walsall and they never recovered after falling behind to an early goal.
Like last season, the side is lacking pace and width and whilst he is still desperate to bring in a fourth player, he admits it is unlikely until he has moved players out of the club.
McDermott has so far brought in just three players this summer.
Leeds United paid for a disjointed first half as Craig Westcarr’s goal condemned them to a third straight pre-season defeat.
Walsall punished a lacklustre performance from Brian McDermott’s side and Leeds were unable to reply to Westcarr’s early strike at the Banks’s Stadium.
United’s loss followed on from their defeats to Domzale and Ferencvaros in Slovenia and left McDermott to consider his options ahead of the opening game of the Championship season on August 3.
United’s manager named a team which was close to his strongest but Leeds struggled to contain Walsall before the break.
The hosts opened the scoring after 12 minutes when former United trainee James Baxendale accepted a through-ball from Adam Chambers and squared a pass to Westcarr who dispatched a difficult volley on the run.
Leeds created spells of pressure and a number of opportunities and Tom Lees was denied by a brilliant save from Richard O’Donnell in the 25th minute. The defender met Stephen Warnock’s corner with a firm header which Walsall’s goalkeeper pushed onto his crossbar.
Ross McCormack also failed to beat O’Donnell from close range and Matt Smith saw an effort cleared off the line by James Chambers but Baxendale wasted a good opportunity for Walsall on 35 minutes as his shot curled wide of Paddy Kenny’s far post.
McDermott introduced Dom Poleon at the start of the second half and his presence made an immediate difference. The young forward should have levelled in the 48th minute but stabbed the ball against O’Donnell’s chest and Noel Hunt’s spared Walsall again when his free header bounced wide from 10 yards.
O’Donnell frustrated Leeds further when he dived to parry a goalbound strike from Michael Tonge and Walsall found United’s defence increasingly resistant until the closing stages.
Ashley Hemmings was unable to connect as Baxendale fired the ball in front of him with only Kenny to beat on 63 minutes but Ben Purkiss should have put the win beyond doubt when he volleyed James McQuilken’s delivery over an open goal.
Aidy White almost snatched a draw late one with a spectacular volley which dropped into the crowd.
Walsall: O’Donnell (Roberts 80), J Chambers (Purkiss 65), Benning (Griffiths 80), Holden (Butler 65), Downing (Hewitt 65), Featherstone (Sawyers 65), Baxendale (Henry 80), A Chambers (McQuilken 46), Lalkovic (Mantom 65), Westcarr (George 65), Hemmings (Morris 65). Subs (not used): Flanagan, Heath.
Leeds United: Kenny, Peltier, Lees, Pearce (Pugh 80), Warnock, Green, Tonge (White 60), Murphy, McCormack, Hunt (Varney 72), Smith (Poleon 46). Subs (not used): Cairns, Brown, Norris, Thompson, Varney, Drury.
Referee: Oliver Langford (West Midlands)
Attendance: 3,900 (1,707 Leeds)
Brian McDermott admitted it was his worst day as Leeds boss since his arrival following the pre-season defeat at Walsall.
Leeds went down to a 1-0 defeat against their League One opponents and McDermott says the side is lacking energy and he is concerned just two weeks before the championship season starts.
"There is not a lot you can say. You have to move on after a performance like that really quickly and get ourselves ready for Tuesday, because I didn`t see it coming," McDermott told Yorkshire Radio.
"It was really disappointing today. There wasn`t enough energy in the team.
"You have to be concerned when you see a performance like that. I do not get carried away when we have a great victory and performance and I do not when we see a performance like we did today. We certainly don`t want to see many more like this.
"Today was the worst day I have had as the Leeds manager."
The defeat at Walsall was Leeds third in a row in pre-season and they now have just two more pre-season games to go before they kick off the championship season with a home game against Brighton and Hove Albion.
The Leeds boss fielded his strongest available team for the trip to Walsall and they never recovered after falling behind to an early goal.
Like last season, the side is lacking pace and width and whilst he is still desperate to bring in a fourth player, he admits it is unlikely until he has moved players out of the club.
McDermott has so far brought in just three players this summer.