Leeds 0-1 Town - Match Report Tuesday, 15th Sep 2015 22:07 Tommy Smith’s 32nd minute goal gave the Blues a 1-0 win at Leeds United, their first victory at Elland Road in 10 years. Town boss Mick McCarthy made two changes following Friday’s 5-1 defeat at Reading. Daryl Murphy came into the side for Brett Pitman, who dropped to the bench, while Ainsley Maitland-Niles returned on the right of midfield for Freddie Sears, who missed out with a hamstring injury. Leeds included former Blues loan striker Chris Wood with Mirco Antenucci joining him up front and Luke Murphy coming into the midfield with Alex Mowatt and Sam Byram dropping to the bench. The home side threatened first in the third minute, Gaetano Beradi whipping over a low cross from the right but Wood couldn’t get on to it and Town cleared. At the other end, Ryan Fraser curled over a low ball from the left but Whites keeper Marco Silvestri claimed at a stretch. On seven, Leeds skipper Sol Bamba was yellow-carded for a late tackle as Fraser skipped past him on the touchline, the Blues winger requiring treatment before continuing. Maitland-Niles’s mis-hit freekick found David McGoldrick but his shot was blocked. In the ninth minute, Wood sent Lewis Cook in on goal on the left of the Town area, but skipper Luke Chambers got back to outmuscle the midfielder, who ought to have done much better having gone to ground very easily. Referee James Adcock swiftly waved away home protests. McGoldrick found Maitland-Niles breaking from deep towards the Leeds area in the 17th minute but the ball was slightly behind where the on-loan Arsenal man wanted it and Cook chased back to dispossess him. Dean Gerken was forced into his first save of the evening on 27 but Antenucci’s effort - the game’s first shot on goal at either end - deflected harmlessly through to the Blues keeper. Beradi shot well wide for Leeds on 29, then two minutes later Douglas won the ball just inside the Leeds half and sent McGoldrick away down the left. The striker cut in and was crowded out when he might have played an early cross towards Murphy. On 32 a Jonas Knudsen throw on the left forced a corner from which the Blues went in front. Keeper Silvestri missed Fraser’s flag-kick, Leeds defender Liam Cooper inadvertently diverted it back across his own area from the far post and Tommy Smith nodded home his second goal of the season. McGoldrick immediately created himself an opening, flicking the ball over a defender before shooting well over from a tight angle on the right. Neither side came close to scoring again before the break. Leeds had a lot of the ball without threatening, while the Blues looked more dangerous when breaking. Overall, it had been an entertaining half but with neither side able to create many chances. As so often in the Championship a mistake - or series of mistakes - were the difference between the teams at the break, Smith having profited from Silvestri and Cooper’s errors. Town had repelled everything thrown at them by the Whites, although Cook should have done better when he had his opportunity, with no repeat of Friday’s defensive mistakes. Murphy got around the outside of Bamba on the left two minutes after the restart but Silvestri claimed. In the 49th minute Fraser fed Knudsen, Cooper got to it ahead of McGoldrick but the loose ball fell to Maitland-Niles, who volleyed powerfully straight at Silvestri from the 18-yard line. On 52 Fraser skipped past Bamba - who almost felled him inside the area - and a number of other Leeds defenders on the left of the box before forcing Silvestri to save at his near post with a shot from a tight angle. The Blues had started the second half on top but on 55 Charlie Taylor cut in past Chambers on the Leeds left and hit a deflected cross-shot which Gerken saved. At the other end Fraser struck a powerful strike from distance which Silvestri grabbed at the second attempt. McGoldrick curled wide from 25 yards a minute later after Maitland-Niles’s pressure had caused Leeds to surrender possession in their own half and Cole Skuse had nodded down to the Blues number 10. Silvestri was forced to save down to his left from McGoldrick on 59 before Leeds swapped Stuart Dallas, a Town target before he joined the Whites in the summer, for Byram. Cook screwed well wide from 20 yards following a Leeds break on 62, then two minutes later Fraser hit a cross from the left beyond Maitland-Niles. Five minutes later, Skuse fed Murphy, who sent Fraser away towards goal but the Scotland U21 international hit his shot across the face and well wide. On 71 Cook was booked for a poor challenge on Knudsen. From the resultant freekick the Dane sent over a cross from the left and Murphy rose highest to nod a looping header over the bar. Cook shot wide from distance for Leeds on 75 before Fraser and Skuse were replaced by Jonny Parr and Giles Coke, both having received treatment on the field. Parr got his name in referee Adcock’s book within seconds of coming on for a foul on Byram. Leeds began to up the tempo and the crowd the noise levels and on 77 Wood saw a shot deflect wide. From the corner, Luke Murphy hit an effort high and wide. Knudsen conceded a needless corner as the game moved into its final 10 minutes, failing to find Gerken with a header back to the keeper. The Whites forced a subsequent flag-kick and Chambers headed superbly from under the bar. For the first time the Blues were coming under real pressure. Pitman took over from Maitland-Niles for the final six minutes of scheduled time. Leeds claimed a penalty in the 86th minute when Byram got around the outside of Knudsen as he ran on to a pass. The sub went to ground as he went beyond the Dane when through on goal, but referee Adcock immediately signalled for a freekick to Town and booked the midfielder for a dive. Replays subsequently showed that he made the right decision. Byram’s team-mates remonstrated with the referee at length, while the home crowd made their feelings known to the official. McGoldrick shot into the side-netting as the game entered its final scheduled minute but most of the football was at the Town end with the home side continuing the pressure. Deep in injury time, Gerken made an unconvincing punch and McGoldrick diverted the ball across the edge of his own area but the Blues held out to claim their first win at Elland Road since a 2-0 win in September 2005 in which Sam Parkin scored twice. The Town players celebrated the win on the pitch as the home fans booed and continued to show their frustrations with the penalty decision. On the overall balance of the game, Town deserved the win having been the better side in the second half having gone in front in the first, defending superbly to bounce back from the heavy loss at Reading with Leeds rarely seriously testing keeper Gerken. The Blues are back up to fifth in the Championship and next face Birmingham in Friday’s live Sky game at Portman Road. Leeds: Silvestri, Berardi, Cooper, Bamba (c), Taylor, Murphy, Cook, Adeyemi (Mowatt 68), Dallas (Byram 60), Wood, Antenucci. Subs: Turnbull, Wootton, Bellusci, Phillips, Doukara. Town: Gerken, Chambers (c), Smith, Berra, Knudsen, Skuse (Coke 76), Douglas, Maitland-Niles, Fraser (Parr 76), Murphy, McGoldrick. Subs: Bialkowski, Malarczyk, Tabb, Touré, Pitman. Referee: James Adcock (Nottinghamshire). Att: 21,312.
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