Heated scenes as Leeds crash out
Right In The Gary Kellys 4/1/14Leeds United crashed out of the FA Cup with quite possibly one of the worst performances of their recent history, losing 2-0 to Rochdale in a game where Leeds were second best throughout the game. This sparked some heated scenes at the final whistle as many Leeds fans stayed behind to voice their discontent towards the team which was pretty much the strongest Brian McDermott could have fielded.
Around three and a half thousand Leeds fans travelled to Rochdale and the mood amongst everyone was that they were ready to enjoy a day out at a smaller stadium which none the less could create a good atmosphere as many home fans gathered in the Spotland’s Stadium for one of their biggest games for a fair few years. However, the longer the game went on, the more hostile the atmosphere became in the Leeds end as the home side dominated the second half.
For large periods of the game I was trying to get my head round what formation Leeds were playing, that’s how disorganised we were. At first I thought it was 4-4-2 with Jason Pearce left back, Danny Pugh in front of him, then I convinced myself it was in fact a 3-4-3 but as the game went on, I don’t think the players even knew what position they were playing in.
The game started quite evenly with Rochdale playing at a fast paced but we were looking half decent when we got the ball on the floor, Sam Byram drawing a few bookings from late tackles. This was about as good as it got for Leeds United.
In all honesty I can’t quite remember a defensive performance as poor as this one, including all the goals we shipped under Grayson and even the 7-3 fiasco at home to Forest. That game was full of special goals and freak happenings, what happened today was quite simply crap. Scott Wootton came back for his first appearance since he sustained an ankle injury and I don’t think he’ll be back in the team anytime soon judging by today; not only was he beaten in the air and floor consistency his distribution was worse than anyone’s. Jason Pearce also had a stinker but I think that was mainly down to a lack of communication between him and Pugh all game, which left Rochdale often with an extra man when attacking down our left, it was no surprise that’s where the goal came from.
It wasn’t the first time a Dale player was not pressurised and able to pick out a cross and it was pinpoint onto Scott Hogan’s head whose header was equally as good. There were a few boos at half time but compared to the final whistle, they were extremely polite.
I for one expected Leeds to come out for the second half and up the tempo and certainly improve the standard of performance but the reality was that 5-0 would not have flattered Rochdale, we were that bad. Our best chance of the entire match was when Ross McCormack found some rare space and bent the ball agonizingly wide from 25 yards this when the game was finely poised at 1-0. At the other end though, you would have thought Rochdale were behind desperately pushing for an equaliser.
Balls were flying into our penalty area, men in blue were constantly unmarked, runners were not picked up and Paddy Kenny was forced into some super saves, the standout been from a header which he somehow turned round the post from six yards out. It was a fantastic performance by Kenny who yet again continues to fight a losing battle in keeping us in football games. Nonetheless, he could do nothing when Henderson put a fantastic finish into the far corner which sent the home fans into raptures and the away end left watching in disbelief in what they were watching.
By now, Rochdale fans were (quite rightly) enjoying their teams position, although one Rochdale fan got a little carried away and ran towards the Leeds after the second goal appearing to taunt us and whilst I’m not sure if it was meant as a joke or he actually wanted someone to lamp him, I’m pretty surprised no one did with the mood we were in!
The last five minutes I have to say was the most painful I have witnessed, it was dreadful. A team in League 2 zipping it around and making our first team look like a bunch of amateurs. It was a relief when the final whistle went and around 90% of our fans had stayed behind to let the team know exactly what they thought of their efforts. I’ve never been a fan of booing your own team, no matter how bad it gets and whilst I expected boos after the final whistle, what we got this time was some serious heat being aimed at the players and McDermott.
Some of the team looked visibly shocked and quite intimidated by the Leeds fans and whilst a few like Sam Byram and Danny Pugh attempted to applaud, the fans were having none of it though, abusing our players in a manner which was quite awkward and hard to bear witness to but also completely understandable. We as fans can accept losing but today, no one could accept that performance.
Fair play to McDermott who fronted the fans himself and told his players to stick around and do the same but he must also take a large portion of the blame for today. It doesn’t take an expert to see that we needed to freshen things up today; Austin was again woeful but if he plays 90 mins of every game of course he’s going to burn out. Matt Smith struggled again, struggling to link up with any of his team mates, Luke Murphy was probably the pick of the outfield players, simply because he seemed the only one up for the fight and actually showed some drive and determination even if his final ball let him down a few times.
Credit must go to Rochdale and Keith Hill though. They played better football than us, often cutting through us at will with impressive performances from front to back; Henderson and Vincenti particularly impressive. They deserved everything they got and I wish them well for the rest of their season.
For us though, this is a game I think we all need and will want to forget quickly, despite many fans on the way home saying they don’t know why they bother, many will be back again at Hillsborough next weekend, me included and we must bounce back. It’s a perfect game in which to do so but the level of performance must rise, the players have proved they are good enough to beat good teams but right now, any kind of win will do we just need one! Let’s move on and hopefully cheers the players on to a win against Sheffield Wednesday next Saturday.