Leeds United 2, Brighton 1

04 Aug 2013 08:56 am, by YorkshireSquare

Leeds United 2 (McCormack 19, Murphy 90)
Brighton & Hove Albion 1 (Ulloa 13)

It’s always a special day isn’t it? That first game of the season. Parking at the top of Beeston Hill I joined the trail of Leeds fans like ants marching towards the ground. Heading down Sunnyview Gardens Elland Road slowly reveals itself from behind the roofs, glinting in the sun it looks magical. The crowds grow larger and larger as I get closer to the ground. It’s a good hour and a half before kick-off but Lowfields Road is packed, there is a buzz about the place. A confidence, an optimism that I have just not felt around the club for a long time.

The bars are packed, a large queue lines the outside of the Pavilion (Ken would be proud) and inside the ground GHF and new Chairman Salah Nooruddin do a strange lap of honour round the pitch. Fans are dragged from the stands to engage with the new board, there are competitions and quizzes, prizes are given away. It’s a good job Ken wasn’t there really, he would have been seething at this new approach to fan engagement. Finally, just before kick-off GHF and crew do a strange Pat Cash style climb up through the East Stand to the executive boxes.

Then came the important bit, the reason nearly 34,000 people had turned out, the football. The game kicked off at a decent pace. Brighton had an early effort saved by Paddy Kenny whilst McCormack and new man Luke Murphy had shots blocked. Leeds didn’t close down well enough in the early stages of the game though and on thirteen minutes a ball from Andrew Crofts cut out three defenders and Jose Ulloa stuck the ball in the back of the net after Tom Lees failed to get goal side of him.

Brighton didn’t hold onto the lead for long though and six minutes later a good cross from Michael Tonge was headed on by Luke Varney finding Ross McCormack on the edge of the area who smartly slotted the ball into the back of the net. It’s fair to say that Brighton didn’t have any meaningful chances for the rest of the first half. Murphy and Varney both had opportunities for Leeds but the sides went in level at half time.

The second half started in much the same way as the first had ended with Leeds very much on top. Ten minutes in Luke Murphy played the ball to Varney who ran into the Brighton box. With options available including Ross McCormack screaming for the ball he took a shot, dragging the ball wide of the Brighton goal.

Paddy Kenny was called into his first serious action since the Brighton goal on the hour mark making a great double save. First he saved an Andrew Crofts shot, the scrabbling he managed to smoother the ball at the feet of Inigo Calderon. He would later make a great save from Will Buckley, though he really should have held onto it but was assisted by his defenders clearing the ball from danger. Kenny undoubtedly kept us in the game on several occasions but his kicking and ball distribution left a lot to be desired.

Youngster Dom Poleon replaced Noel Hunt, who I felt had been quiet, and immediately showed why he had received so much praise from McDermott in pre-season. Not afraid to run with the ball at the Brighton defence he looked lively and he came close to scoring when he turned and shot in the box only to see the ball go just wide. With only minutes remaining in the game he found himself with space in the box, his shot was saved well by Kuszczak only to land at the feet of Paul Green who blasted over the bar. He should have at least found the target and I felt our chance to win had gone.

The fourth official announced four minutes of extra time, four minutes of frantic end to end football. With time running out, Matt Smith who had replaced Luke Varney, flicked the ball on into the path of Murphy who chested (or handballed) the ball down as he broke into the area and shot towards the goal. Kuszczak got a hand to the ball, agonisingly steering it onto the post before it spun back into the net. Cue mass celebrations and grown men hugging.

All in all a good game and the lads gave everything. The new style of football is very much about being positive and keeping the ball on the floor, a refreshing change. The weak links for me are the defence and lack of width. Lee Peltier offered much of our width but his passing and crossing was terrible. The defence backed off a bit too much and I feel we need an experienced signing there to secure things.

The positives came from our midfield. Murphy, Tonge and Green all played well, Green being the pick for me. They closed down Brighton and got the ball forward well. The real star of the show was Ross McCormack though. He was our most creative player, he got out wide, played some nice balls into the box and also worked extremely hard at getting back and helping out the defence. The much maligned Luke Varney also offered moments of brilliance though his decision making was poor at times.

Despite the optimism around the club we know the team isn’t the finished article and there are areas we need to improve and invest. Austin and Byram are to return and will both offer something more to the starting eleven. A great start to the season though. I don’t think we could have asked for much more and hopefully a win will mean some of those in the 34,000 crowd who had stayed away last season will continue to come and get behind the team.

Leeds Line-up:
Kenny, Peltier, Pearce, Lees, Warnock (Drury 80), Green, Murphy, Tonge, McCormack, Varney (Smith 82), Hunt (Poleon 67)
Unused Subs: Ashdown, Drury, White, Brown, Norris

Brighton Line-up:
Kuszczak, Saltor, Greer, Crofts, Barnes (Buckley 64), Orlandi (LuaLua 82), Calderon, Ulloa, Upson, Lopez (Agustein 57), Bridcutt
Unused Subs: Ankergren, El-Abd, March, Maksimenko

Attendance: 33,432

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eddietosteady wrote on 04 Aug 2013 11:32 am

Thanks for a greatmatch report and sounds all good and sound,if there,s one thing better than grown men crying it,s certainly hugging each other.