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Leeds United 2-1 Town - Match Report
Wednesday, 4th Mar 2015 22:18

Town fell to back to back league defeats for the first time this season as they were beaten 2-1 at Leeds United with all the goals coming in seven second-half minutes and Daryl Murphy having a late penalty saved. Alex Mowatt put Leeds ahead on 71, Freddie Sears equalised three minutes later, then Billy Sharp put the Whites back in front on 77, prior to Leeds keeper Marco Silvestri saving Murphy’s spotkick.

Boss Mick McCarthy made his promised changes with strike pair Murphy and Sears rested and amongst the subs.

Chris Wood and ex-Leeds man Luke Varney were handed their full Blues debuts with Paul Anderson and Jonny Parr starting on the right and left of midfield respectively, and Kevin Bru and Richard Chaplow also dropping to the bench.

Cameron Stewart - who was on loan with the Whites last season - and Paddy Kenny - a former Leeds keeper - Kundai Benyu and Alex Henshall also made the trip but were left out of the 18.

Ex-Whites striker Noel Hunt, who is on crutches and expected to be out for the season due to his medial knee ligament injury, also travelled.

The Blues started brightly and had the ball in the net in only the third minute, Varney heading skipper Luke Chambers's right-wing cross home against his old club, but with the linesman’s flag having been raised.

Leeds weren’t far away from going in front in the seventh minute when Lewis Cook sent in a cross from the right towards January Town target Sharp, who hit a shot which looked on its way into the net until Tommy Smith blocked.

Sol Bamba headed over at the far post in the 14th minute after Mowatt had dispossessed Varney on the edge of the Town box on the right following a Leeds freekick which had been half-cleared. Moments later, Tyrone Mings did well to cut out a through ball ahead of Sam Byram,

Neither side threatened again before the half hour mark with the game a typically scrappy Championship affair. The Blues won a number of corners and freekicks in dangerous areas but, as was the case at Norwich on Sunday, failed to make anything of them.

Leeds should have gone ahead in the 35th minute when Christophe Berra slipped when in possession in the left-back position, allowing Byram to cross towards Sharp, who headed wide while under pressure from Smith with the home players and fans calling for a penalty. Referee Mark Brown was unmoved, however.

A minute later, Giuseppe Bellusci smashed a freekick over from 30 yards before play moved back to the other end and Mings won another corner with a dangerous cross from the left. Again it came to nothing.

Three minutes before the break, Leeds keeper Silvestri punched Anderson’s freekick to the edge of the area. Smith and then Wood both had efforts blocked.


The game remained goalless at half-time with little in an evenly balanced first half. The home side had had the better chances but via Town slips at the back rather than through their own guile.

Despite Wood and Varney having linked up well at times - there seemed little argument about the early disallowed goal - and Parr and Mings having looked threatening down the left, the Blues had been unable to test Silvestri in the Leeds goal.

Two minutes after the restart Mings forced Silvestri into his first serious save of the evening. Chambers crossed from the right and the Blues left-back headed towards the far corner but the Leeds keeper did superbly to get across to push it wide.

From the corner, the ball fell to Cole Skuse on the edge of the box by Bamba blocked his shot, with his hand according to some Town players. Again referee Brown was unmoved. The Blues kept up the pressure, Scott Wootton blocking a subsequent Mings strike.

On 51 Mowatt crossed low from the Leeds left to Sharp, whose shot on the turn deflected through to Bialkowski off Berra.

Varney, who had undergone treatment for a head injury after a clash with Bamba a couple of minutes earlier, did well to get over a cross from the left in the 55th minute but Anderson somehow managed to hit his shot from the edge of the box to Parr also out wide on the left.

Bru replaced Anderson in the 61st minute, Parr moving to the right and Tabb to the left with the Mauritian international taking up his usual central midfield role.

Four minutes later, as Mings prepared to take a freekick on the left, Murphy replaced Varney, who was booed off loudly by his old fans.

Mings sent the ball into the box and Leeds were unable to clear, Tabb nodding into the danger area and Chambers and then Berra both having efforts blocked. Soon after Bru picked up the game’s first yellow card for a foul on Charlie Taylor.

As in the first half there had been little between the teams but on 71 the home side went in front, profiting from another Town defensive error.

Mings dawdled on the ball just outside the box to the left and lost out to Byram, who he then hauled back. Mowatt took the freekick and curled it between Bialkowski and his left post and into the net. The Polish keeper will feel he might have done better.

Town immediately swapped Sears for Wood and two minutes after coming on the sub got his side back on terms, although the goal owed much to an error by Leeds keeper Silvestri.

The ex-Colchester man hit a low speculative effort from 25 yards which the keeper ought to have claimed easily down to his right, however, it somehow slipped under him and into the net to restore parity. It was Sears’s 18th goal of the season and his fourth for the Blues.

Town started to look for a second, Sears crossing and Mings flicking the ball up into the air and into Silvestri’s arms.

However, only three minutes after losing their lead, the home side went back in front with the game’s third goal in seven minutes. After a break down the right, Cook crossed and Sharp hit a superb low volley on the turn at the far post which gave Bialkowski no chance.

The Blues immediately went about getting back on terms for a second time, Silvestri saving efforts from distance from Mings and then from Bru. At the other end, Sharp teed up Cook but Bialkowski wasn’t troubled by his edge of the box strike.

With seven minutes left on the clock Town were given a golden opportunity to get back on terms when Bamba handled inside the area on the left as Sears tried to take the ball past him. Referee Brown awarded the Blues only their second penalty of the season, the other coincidentally having been against Leeds at Portman Road.

On that occasion David McGoldrick netted but in his absence Murphy took the responsibility. Town’s 21-goal top scorer hit a low shot to Silvestri’s right but the keeper got down and across to push it on to the post and away from goal, atoning for his earlier error.

Two minutes from the end of scheduled time Mowatt was unable to reproduce his earlier freekick, sending a strike from the left well wide.

Town couldn't find an opening in the remaining minutes, Chambers heading a late corner over, and the referee’s whistle confirmed a second away defeat in four days.

As so often in the Championship the match was settled by mistakes. Mick McCarthy won’t have been impressed by Mings’s role in Leeds’ first and will feel Sharp ought to have been marked more closely for the second, the game's one moment of real quality.

The Blues, who remain seventh, were somewhat gifted Sears’s goal and also the penalty, which was more a save than a miss and McCarthy will feel it was a match they shouldn’t have lost.

A season which has held so much promise is now in danger of slipping away with Town now having lost six of their 11 league games since the turn of the year having previously been defeated just once in 20.

However, they are still only five points from the automatic promotion places and a point off sixth-placed Brentford, who visit Portman Road for a crunch clash on Saturday afternoon.

Leeds: Silvestri, Wootton, Bamba, Bellusci, Cooper, Byram, Cook, Murphy, Mowatt, C Taylor (Antenucci 68), Sharp (Morison 86). Unused: S Taylor, Berardi, Sloth, Doukara, Cani.

Town: Bialkowski, Chambers (c), Mings, Berra, Smith, Skuse, Tabb, Anderson (Bru 61), Parr, Varney (Murphy 65), Wood (Sears 72). Unused: Gerken, Clarke, Chaplow, Connolly. Referee: Mark Brown (East Yorkshire). Attendance: 19,730.


Photo: Action Images



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Sidemen added 22:18 - Mar 4
Our season has been a catalogue of missed opportunities. This game, that penalty, perfectly encapsules that.
14

NoCanariesAllowed added 22:19 - Mar 4
No. I know. It's been said. It'll keep being said. "The season is not over yet."

With that being the case, why the hell have we already stopped playing?

Sorry. I overwhelmingly appreciate, and applaud, the accomplishments of this squad in the first half of the season. They were highly commendable and immensely enjoyable. Tonight's inevitable tide of complaints might look like short-sighted, melodramatic nonsense within a few weeks, and indeed on reflection of the past few years. But unless you're utterly impervious to the tides of emotion that come with loving a football team, you cannot help but feel sickened by what has happened to us since the home defeat to Derby, grated by the fear that everything which preceded it might ultimately count for nothing.

Damn football. It's bloody agony.
41

bushbaby7 added 22:19 - Mar 4
I feel our season is falling apart quicker than a flat pack from Argos!
18

Sidemen added 22:19 - Mar 4
Sears seems to be the only bright spark in our team at the moment, we have allot of other players with quality but they are not on form.
11

stevelincsexile added 22:21 - Mar 4
I think this game shows even more how important Mcgoldrick is to us.
10

Scribble added 22:21 - Mar 4
I wonder where all the "why is everyone moaning we would of taken playoffs at the start of the season" brigade are now after we've managed to lose the big points gap we had and are now 7th with a run of really tough games coming up.

Many of us called for new faces in January and we were told we weren't real fans, look what's happened since.

Finally the team selection tonight was in the words of MM "Bonkers" absolute joke how Tabb is in the side and continues to take corners never clearing the first man, we used to be dangerous from set pieces, where did it all go wrong.
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kidsurello added 22:22 - Mar 4
Most fustrating team ever, I don't know any other team that put their best players on the bench, and worst players on the pitch, i.e Varney, Skuse, tabb, smith, anderson.
Where's Stewart???? He's going to win supporter of the year he's been in the stands for that many games
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pablo123 added 22:23 - Mar 4
Can we talk to mark Warburton now ? Is that allowed ?? Oh hang on though that would cost Marcus money , so that's not gonna happen !!
7

blueherts added 22:23 - Mar 4
Scum lose at home to Wigan !! WTF
But - if you look at our problems since xmas - we have had injuries to Dids , Hyam , Bishop , S Hunt and Ambrose - all would be in the matchday squad ( two of then are our best footballers - Dids and Bishop)
Plus our good defence up to xmas 22 goals conceded in 24 has become 16 in 11 games since - The back 5 have all made mistakes and that is where we need to focus
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Suffolk_n_Good added 22:24 - Mar 4
Well what a bloody joke that was, why o why drop Sears to the bench, when he's clearly been our best player in recent games. So now Saturday is a must win game just to get us back in the play offs, wait for all the "we should be grateful for where we are, if you'd of given us 7th place at this stage of the season, we'd of all been delighted" brigade to start posting...... Make no mistake Mcarthy has got this wrong tonight, no matter what excuses he pedals out.....
20

WaffleMan added 22:24 - Mar 4
very very disappointing, equalising after a couple of minutes then conceading again just after that! we need to sort out our back 4, letting in too many goals for a team fighting for promotion. Really lacking a creative midfielder, a midfield of anderson, skuse, tabb, and parr has no goals in it all, that midfield suggests we are going to these places looking for a point but actually losing. would love to know where Cameron Stewart is, one of the only creative players we have and he's no where near the team. Our next two games are huge and something has to change before then! should of signed a creative midfielder in january and gambled but all we can do now is hope we can beat brentford and boro in the next two games. must win games
8

Norwichbeater added 22:24 - Mar 4
2 points. The first is that since we changed back to defensive footy against Southampton which was understandable. We haven't switched back to the 4 3 3 that was blowing everyone away in the championship. 2nd point. I understand and agree that Tabb and Smith should be rested as not playing well, however the real weak link is Barts and I keep saying it. Please look back at highlights of the last 5 games. He has let in appalling goals. It looks like he is doing it on purpose.(obviously not though) Gerks MUST be put back in goal for now. Just listened to MM and he sounds angry with few excuses which may be a good sign for Saturday.
9

Nuggets added 22:24 - Mar 4
I'm really disappointed with this result. 2015 has been a horrible year for us so far, we're looking inconsistent, stodgy, and completely unable to kill off sides and get points on the board at times. I know our promotion bid was always looking unlikely on paper, but we really needed a result here and I thought the starting formation was completely negative and the wrong way to approach this game. Why start both Luke Varney and Chris Wood up top when neither player can be considered 'match fit'? Sure, Sears and Murphy could do with a rest, considering the small size of our squad, but not both of them at the same time, surely? Having said that, Murphy had a real opportunity to score from the spot and get us the point we need. Murphy's form is really starting to concern me, hasn't looked himself the past few games and needs to get a goal soon, in anything for his confidence.

I don't mind too much about the defence. It's preferable to have a settled back four and I think defensively, on the whole, we've been decent this season. Our main issue with this side is in the midfield and the starting midfield today exemplified the worst aspects of Mick's tenure so far with its stuffy pragmatism and unnecessary conservatism.

We now have two 'must win' games against Brentford and Middlesbrough if we're to stay in this promotion race. How we're still in with a chance I don't know, and at least it was good to see Norwich slip up, especially after the cockiness of their fans recently. We cannot afford to be complacent because of the inconsistency of teams around us. I know we're lucky to be in with a shout of promotion, but with all these crazy results, this year offers a great opportunity for a top six finish.
3

TractorBoy666 added 22:25 - Mar 4
Didn't understand some of the changes from Mick for this game, a game made for Sears with his pace against the two Leeds defenders and Tabb who continues to take corners! We basically had a line up of 8 defensive players out there from the start, although we had good start to the game. Why do we continue playing 442? Ever since Southampton we have gone 442 and our form has halted as a result. First time out of the top six since November and a massive game Saturday now, spending no money January now looks to be telling but I'll keep supporting the team until the very end...COYB
10

Michael11 added 22:25 - Mar 4
Nobody can deny what a fantastic job McCarthy has done on such a nothing budget, but I'm still left staggered most weeks by his bizzarre tactics and philosophies. Leeds are a very poor team and we played the most negative line up I've seen this season! I can understand resting Murphy for Brentford but why Sears? it took him 5 minutes to find the net when Varney could play til midnight on his own without scoring. Hope I'm wrong, but we just seem a mid table over acheiving team to me.
19

itfc4e added 22:25 - Mar 4
This has driven me to finally register and post..... I am starting to think that Mick is watching a different game from the rest of us. Every time I have seen Tabb, he has been poor yet seems to be in every match. The defence has to play hoofball because there is no midfield to pass to. If we don't get some creativity into our midfield then the season will fizzle out with us ending up about 8th. In Mick, i'm beginning to lose faith!!
11

SickParrot added 22:25 - Mar 4
Now 13 points from a possible 33 in 2015. Well done ME and MM for not adding some pace and quality to the team in the January window! It is going to be mid-table mediocrity for us again.

We know what MM will say:
There are no easy games......
Leeds are much better than their league position....
We had more possession....
They just scored 2 to our 1....
Tabby is different class...
Blah bloody blah!
9

Lightningboy added 22:25 - Mar 4
The team is now starting to look like a total mess..Mick needs to start picking OUR best 11 and not HIS favourite 11.

To drop Sears tonight for Varney is hilarious and his continuation of Chambers at RB instead of Parr is annoying beyond belief.

Huge result and performance needed Saturday to restore any sort of faith.
17

clint_eastwood added 22:26 - Mar 4
Cheer up lads. Still 11 games to play. Anything can happen. Keep believing, we'll get there.
3

unknown100 added 22:28 - Mar 4
BOOOO! Expect to get a lot of hate for this, but McCarthys style of play is non existent, looks like he just picks the team and says good luck, as much as people don't say our squads are as good as others,
wood, murphy and Sears, mcgoldrick are a quality blend of players, international and ex premier league players,
Bishop and mings 2 of the best young players in the league
Berra, smith, chambers are ex captains and very experienced championship defenders
Midfield is a little weak but no attempt has been made to strengthen
Anderson and tabb are horrifically bad!!!!!!
Sort it out McCarthy, football has moved on and lumping players and running around a lot is getting very old and predictable! It's not the 90's!!!! football has moved on,
Start playing football or go home!
9

jas0999 added 22:28 - Mar 4
Bitterly disappointing again. Can't understand the team selection. How poor does Tabb have to be before he gets dropped? Then again, he is no worse than the rest of the midfield who are poor also. No doubt some will say it's still been a great season and they are entitled to their opinion. But, you have to review expectation levels as the season develops and considering where were were going into 2015, being outside the play offs albeit by a point in early March is very frustrating.

In 11 league games this year we have won four, draw one and lost six. So this is not just one game, but a combination of desperately disappointing results. 13 points from 33 is mid to lower table. Not top 6, let alone top 2. There is still time, but the midfield needs to be addressed, whilst MM needs to lose the ego/pig headedness and drop players even if they are his favourites or what that fans are suggesting.

I still believe the transfer strategy in January was flawed. I hoped at the time it wouldn't prove costly, but it's already backfired. Attack minded midfield player needed for Saturday.
13

runaround added 22:29 - Mar 4
A terrible result. Think Mick has got it wrong since Christmas & we have fallen into a rut we can't get out of. His insistence of playing Smith & Chambers out of position, letting the uncreative Tabby take & waste all the set pieces & playing with no width or forward thinking in midfield. The players seem physically & emotionally exhausted, are making mistakes & are very nervous. Saturday is a massive match & a win will put us back in top 6 but I honestly cannot see it. The players will give their all but will be so nervous & try too hard. Brentford better passing & attacking play will win the day. Defeat will end our chances, I hope I'm wrong but feel very down about our chances right now.
Mick has a massive job these next 2 days
7

ipswich_Jordy added 22:29 - Mar 4
Where to start! Firstly, the fact that MM continous to play the same midfield and defence is beyond me. He repeatedly says that this is his faveroute back 4, but its not the best. We played our best football and got our gest results when playing with flying full backs, also the fact that he has a centre back playing right back and we are still leaking goals must be concerning him. Big changes need to be made fast, he may aswell begin playing with wingers at home we have nothing to hold onto now. At the start of the season we were overachieving, relying on a solid defence a Nd Murphy, now we are leaking goals and murphy is in poor form. Time to start attacking teams, and will someone at the club tell the players that it is not only sears and murphy who are aloud to score!
4

StochesStotasBlewe added 22:31 - Mar 4
Very disappointed, but not entirely surprised when I saw the starting 11. No shots in the first half, nowhere near good enough, basic mistakes in the second half, again not good enough IF we are seriously going to mount another challenge. Nodge lost, but that is no consolation. Please MM just put players in their proper positions, get some balance back into the team, then we may just get some positive results. Leeds struggle against pace, so why not start with Sears, & maybe Stewart to get behind their defence. Must do much better against an impressive Brentford.
9

Mr_Evans added 22:31 - Mar 4
I wish the local media would stop pussy footing around with MM and ask him the following questions:
Why does he unbalance the team by playing Chambers, a CB, at RB to accommodate Tommy Smith.
Why is Parr, our full back, either not making the starting 11 or being played at RM.
Why does Tabb take our corners!? Any professional footballer who cannot beat the first man from a corner should be club fined. It's unbelievably slap dash.
Why have we not been properly informed to the seriousness of McGoldricks injury.
Why after stating that, and I quote, "I will only sign players that are better than what we already have", you then go and sign Varney and Chaplow? Who clearly do not offer anything more than what we already have.
Why do you travel to Leeds and quite clearly set up to play for a draw?
Why revert back to the hoof ball tactics that didn't work at the start of the season? When we changed to 433 we went on out best run of results since the Joe Royle days. Why change back? And still insist on packing the midfield with central players?

We fans deserve to know why MM is making these decisions. We are the clubs consumers and have a right to voice our dissatisfaction.
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