The Beautiful Game (Leeds United A.F.C.)

Member Name: thehud

Product:	Leeds United A.F.C.
Date:	31/03/02 (26 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Excitement

Disadvantages: Ultimate disappointment

In case you're somehow not aware of this (and if you'd been shipwrecked on some South Sea island for this last forty years, there may be just the one or two of you out there), the United football teams of Leeds and Manchester are just a touch akin to a red rag to each other, with the biannual confrontation between the two sides constantly being among the most keenly anticipated and bitterly contested of footballing confrontations.

The battle brings out the best (and worst) in the two sets of gladiators and at times over the years blood has been drawn and the referees' books have overflowed with players' names.

The match on March 30 at Elland Road was every bit as eagerly awaited as any previous encounter, although teeth and swords remained curiously sheathed for the most part, although the match did develop into a classic battle royal, albeit only over the last half hour.

Both sides went into the game requiring victory - United unexpectedly surrendered their Premiership advantage last week at home to Middlesbrough and now needed to win at all costs in order to keep the pressure on Arsenal and Liverpool, while Leeds' alarming mid season malaise had left them needing to win most of their final ten Premiership games to secure the Champions League place they have sought all season. They had won the last three in a row and looked to have at least recovered some of their spine and spirit.

Sir Alex Ferguson sprang the pre match shock by opting to rest his golden boy Ruud van Nistelrooy, while Juan Sebastien Veron missed out after sustaining an injury in a mid week international for Argentina, while David O'Leary decided to keep Lee Bowyer on the bench despite his recent suspension being over. Leeds captain Rio Ferdinand continued to be absent through injury.

The story of the match was a bizarre one, with the opening minutes being well contested and Leeds seeming uncharacteristically confident given thei
r difficulties since Christmas and having the best of the opening exchanges. However, it was the Reds who struck first with Mikael Silvestre finding space on the left to cut the ball back for Paul Scholes to firing home from the edge of the area.

One would have thought that would have knocked Leeds' fragile confidence, especially as the potential match winner Harry Kewell had to be withdrawn early on after being clumsily stamped on by Nicky Butt. However, Kewell's replacement was Bowyer and the midfielder inspired a dramatic response, cutting through the United rearguard at pace on the left to flick the ball inside for Mark Viduka's run off the back of Gary Neville. The big Aussie held long enough to send Fabien Barthez to the floor before skillfully playing the ball home for a shock equaliser.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer put Manchester back in the ascendancy shortly afterwards with two goals in less than a minute, with both having a touch of the fortunate about them. United also seized upon that advantage to exert almost complete dominance of the match and finish the half well on top, and looking like they were going to run out easy winners.

The conversation from the pundits at half time was all about the next goal being crucial, with a Reds goal wrapping the game up, while a Leeds effort would see battle be joined in earnest. It didn't quite turn out like that, however.

True enough, the writing looked to be very much on the wall when Laurent Blanc put David Beckham away down the left and Ian Harte's doomed chase just a distraction to the England captain. He raced all the way into the Leeds penalty area before cutting in to lay on a perfect pass for Giggs to apply the killer touch.

One could have expected Leeds to have crumbled at that point and a header from Ronny Johnsen looked to have made the score 5-1 until Nigel Martyn somehow managed to tip the ball onto the bar. But somehow they battled their
way back in with a passionate approach. David O'Leary withdrew both Seth Johnson and David Batty and threw caution to the wind, playing all four of his main strikers for the last 30 minutes, Mark Viduka, Robbies Fowler and Keane and Alan Smith.

Fowler won a free kick just outside the United area and Harte produced the perfect effort, tight in the angle between post and crossbar, and then Keane cut through from the right to feed Fowler, whose wild shot was nodded home by Bowyer to leave Leeds just a goal to the bad.

This was extraordinary and United's considered view that Leeds were dead and buried at 4-1 looked to be a misjudgement as they rocked under the Yorkshiremen's onslaught. 18 months ago, Leeds had launched a remarkable comeback at Elland Road to beat Liverpool 4-3 and it now looked like they might be able to beat even that turnaround.

But lightning didn't strike twice for them. Their strikers were not in the same form as Viduka was that day with his four goals, while United's spine was considerably more robust than Liverpool's. Smith came close with an overhead kick and a second free kick from Harte shaved the woodwork, while Leeds threw everyone into their final assault, but somehow it was not to be and United managed to waste enough time (collecting some yellow cards in the process) to secure a 4-3 victory.

However, that breathless cut and thrust was only part of the story of the day, for this wonderful encounter, almost totally devoid of the normal blood lust and frenzy of a standard United-Leeds war, was a remarkable advert for the beautiful game enjoyed by the followers of the Premiership, British football as she should be played, at a pace and with a passion that made the first half of the England-Italy match at the same stadium three days earlier seem overly tame and boring by comparison.

It may lack the finesse and the extraordinary skill of the best European conflicts, but thi
s sort of football is undoubtedly exciting, passionate and exciting to watch, epitomised by the clenched fist and teeth approach of United captain Roy Keane who dominated much of the midfield sparring and always seemed to have the answer to the best that Leeds could produce.

At its best I would defy anyone anywhere to name a League which can match the excitement of the Premiership, and certainly Leeds and United generated a classic Premiership encounter - United have been well used to this sort of cavalier stuff this season (consider their exciting away battles at Newcastle, Tottenham and West Ham), but Leeds entered into the spirit rather more enthusiastically than had been their norm this season, abandoning the spiteful and petty approach which has characterised too much of their football this year.

They have been extremely unlucky once again with injuries, but have lost too many players to suspension for their own good, and it has been their readiness to mix it on the physical side and kick opponents which has ultimately been their downfall - that and an alarmingly fragile resolve in defence, after they had kicked off the season with an almost impervious rearguard. Woodgate has brought some more reassurance, but it is only when Ferdinand and Woodgate are in harness that they really look the part at the back. A Champions League spot, or even an automatic UEFA Cup place may be beyond them now, and that is likely to lead to something of a mass exodus during the summer, which would be a shame for a squad which had looked so good last year.

For their part, United have probably lost too many games to retain their title, but have certainly played some exciting stuff this season. Arsenal look like they will recapture the Premiership, but United's readiness to throw caution to the wind has produced some exhilarating matches.

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