Dr.Leeds wrote:I wasn't expecting to make this match as I expected to be busy. I was going to get myself a ticket in the home end but a patient offered me complimentary tickets and you can't refuse that can you? Nice to bump into Pat and Ange beforehand.
A game of little quality and 3-0 flattered us. The coin toss is rarely as important in football but swapping ends suited us as a strong northerly wind took control of anything above shoulder height. Both sides took time to get a handle on the conditions. Any long ball forward by Doncaster stalled and fell almost vertically and our centre backs were rarely troubled. Zaliukas in particular had a field day attacking every forward ball and dispatching it with ease. The first ten minutes were relatively even but Leeds gradually got the grip of the match. Austin got chance to break free and was clattered on the right wing. The second he went down I was thinking that the position was tailor made for a wind assisted Mowatt in swinger and that's exactly what led to our first goal, Smith stooping to take the header. The highlight of the match for me was seeing my daughter look around her to check no-one was watching before doing a little fist-pump...
McCormack was noticeably running the show again. Often dropping deep to receive the ball directly from our midfielders. A run to the right side of the box saw a cross that Smith should have been able to keep down. Another piece of Mowatt magic saw a first time ball that left Pugh in acres of space running into the area from the left but his ball across the 6 yard box found no-one.
Half time: Doncaster 0. Wind 1.
Come the second half, with the wind unrelenting I expected Brian to send us out to keep possession on the floor but it didn't really happen. We fell into the same trap that Doncaster did in the first half with attempted balls forward from Lees, Mowatt and Murphy falling short giving McCormack and Austin nothing to run onto and taking all momentum out of our forward play. Our defensive heading became more wayward and we gifted them far too much possession in the middle of the park. A slightly fortuitous ball forward found Theo Robinson free in the area and he finished calmly. I was at a poor angle but thought he must be offside. The assistant referee waited patiently for the Doncaster fans to finish their celebrations and for the ball almost to get back to the centre spot before raising his flag.
Doncaster were certainly getting the better of things and Mowatt in particular struggled as his trademark passes were rendered ineffective by the conditions. His substitution for Michael Brown was a good decision. Our centre backs stood fast however and Doncaster became increasingly desperate and reliant on shots from outside the box but only drawing a couple of relatively simple saves from Paddy. They began to leave more space at the back and we finally kept it on the deck a little more. Brown broke free down the left and had to be cynically taken out. Soon McCormack had a moment to show his quality though and made a strong run into the box, evading several weak challenges before slotting home beautifully from a narrow angle with his left. Cue trouble in the home end as the percentage of Leeds fans in there became more obvious and there was clearly a scuffle under there as stewards and police ran to that end of the pitch. "Stand full of Leeds fans" sang the away end.
Soon afterwards it was a stand full of virtually nobody as another McCormack run down the right side of the 18 yard box produced a cross that just evaded Smith in front of goal but bounced once before coming to Austin who unleashed a left foot volley that beat Turnbull low at his near post and would have been the pride of any striker.
Kenny 7. Rarely troubled. A few simple saves in the second half.
Peltier 6. Pelts is much improved this season but Byram's pace and attacking movement would have suited this match much better.
Lees 7. Tom's not been on great form this season and injury hadn't helped but dealt well with most things. Can usually be relied on to make a few decent forward balls during a match but didn't deal well with the windy conditions.
Zaliukas 9 and MOM. My first chance to see Marius play and what a signing he could turn out to be. Clearly vocal and never stopped checking the position of his fellow defenders. Attacked and dispatched every high ball forward from Doncaster with considerable authority. Our youthful centre backs could develop very well alongside this chap. We would do well to tie him down to a longer contract now.
Pearce 8. Pearce is finally starting to become the player we thought Warnock had signed. The "headless chicken" moments are creeping out of his game and is growing in stature alongside Zaliukas.
Pugh 6. Had little to do defensively. Put into space a few times by Mowatt but failed to capitalize.
Murphy 6. Little chance to express himself and had to play more and more defensively as Doncaster grew in authority in the second half.
Mowatt 6. Peach of a set piece for Smith's opener and made a couple of good opportunities for Pugh and McCormack in the first half but poor in the second and rightfully replaced.
Austin 7. Made on or two decent runs in the first half but played too far forward for me when we were under the cosh a little in the second. Took his goal beautifully though.
Smith 8. I've liked Smith since I first saw him preseason and he is proving a very shrewd free acquisition. His game is developing well and he is becoming more of a footballer with his back to goal. A blossoming partnership with McCormack could see him retaining his place unless we make a very good signing in January. Still a work in progress I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Matt finish the season with 15-20 goals to his name.
McCormack 9. Since moving back up front Ross has been what makes Leeds United tick. Hungry for the ball he is racking up the assists too and once he gets the ball on the right side of the 18 yard box he is putting decent crosses in for Smith with some regularity. Looks fitter, faster and deadlier. Ross has had good runs of form in the past but this one shows no signs of abating.
Subs:
Brown 7. Steadied the ship. Good break forward. Did his job.
Expert summary Dr
My ratings were docked down significantly after that 2nd half pantomime show which could have cost us the points.
No player deserved less than 7 in the first-half......2nd period was a totally different story until Ross settled our nerves !
Dr.Leeds wrote:I wasn't expecting to make this match as I expected to be busy. I was going to get myself a ticket in the home end but a patient offered me complimentary tickets and you can't refuse that can you? Nice to bump into Pat and Ange beforehand.
A game of little quality and 3-0 flattered us. The coin toss is rarely as important in football but swapping ends suited us as a strong northerly wind took control of anything above shoulder height. Both sides took time to get a handle on the conditions. Any long ball forward by Doncaster stalled and fell almost vertically and our centre backs were rarely troubled. Zaliukas in particular had a field day attacking every forward ball and dispatching it with ease. The first ten minutes were relatively even but Leeds gradually got the grip of the match. Austin got chance to break free and was clattered on the right wing. The second he went down I was thinking that the position was tailor made for a wind assisted Mowatt in swinger and that's exactly what led to our first goal, Smith stooping to take the header. The highlight of the match for me was seeing my daughter look around her to check no-one was watching before doing a little fist-pump...
McCormack was noticeably running the show again. Often dropping deep to receive the ball directly from our midfielders. A run to the right side of the box saw a cross that Smith should have been able to keep down. Another piece of Mowatt magic saw a first time ball that left Pugh in acres of space running into the area from the left but his ball across the 6 yard box found no-one.
Half time: Doncaster 0. Wind 1.
Come the second half, with the wind unrelenting I expected Brian to send us out to keep possession on the floor but it didn't really happen. We fell into the same trap that Doncaster did in the first half with attempted balls forward from Lees, Mowatt and Murphy falling short giving McCormack and Austin nothing to run onto and taking all momentum out of our forward play. Our defensive heading became more wayward and we gifted them far too much possession in the middle of the park. A slightly fortuitous ball forward found Theo Robinson free in the area and he finished calmly. I was at a poor angle but thought he must be offside. The assistant referee waited patiently for the Doncaster fans to finish their celebrations and for the ball almost to get back to the centre spot before raising his flag.
Doncaster were certainly getting the better of things and Mowatt in particular struggled as his trademark passes were rendered ineffective by the conditions. His substitution for Michael Brown was a good decision. Our centre backs stood fast however and Doncaster became increasingly desperate and reliant on shots from outside the box but only drawing a couple of relatively simple saves from Paddy. They began to leave more space at the back and we finally kept it on the deck a little more. Brown broke free down the left and had to be cynically taken out. Soon McCormack had a moment to show his quality though and made a strong run into the box, evading several weak challenges before slotting home beautifully from a narrow angle with his left. Cue trouble in the home end as the percentage of Leeds fans in there became more obvious and there was clearly a scuffle under there as stewards and police ran to that end of the pitch. "Stand full of Leeds fans" sang the away end.
Soon afterwards it was a stand full of virtually nobody as another McCormack run down the right side of the 18 yard box produced a cross that just evaded Smith in front of goal but bounced once before coming to Austin who unleashed a left foot volley that beat Turnbull low at his near post and would have been the pride of any striker.
Kenny 7. Rarely troubled. A few simple saves in the second half.
Peltier 6. Pelts is much improved this season but Byram's pace and attacking movement would have suited this match much better.
Lees 7. Tom's not been on great form this season and injury hadn't helped but dealt well with most things. Can usually be relied on to make a few decent forward balls during a match but didn't deal well with the windy conditions.
Zaliukas 9 and MOM. My first chance to see Marius play and what a signing he could turn out to be. Clearly vocal and never stopped checking the position of his fellow defenders. Attacked and dispatched every high ball forward from Doncaster with considerable authority. Our youthful centre backs could develop very well alongside this chap. We would do well to tie him down to a longer contract now.
Pearce 8. Pearce is finally starting to become the player we thought Warnock had signed. The "headless chicken" moments are creeping out of his game and is growing in stature alongside Zaliukas.
Pugh 6. Had little to do defensively. Put into space a few times by Mowatt but failed to capitalize.
Murphy 6. Little chance to express himself and had to play more and more defensively as Doncaster grew in authority in the second half.
Mowatt 6. Peach of a set piece for Smith's opener and made a couple of good opportunities for Pugh and McCormack in the first half but poor in the second and rightfully replaced.
Austin 7. Made on or two decent runs in the first half but played too far forward for me when we were under the cosh a little in the second. Took his goal beautifully though.
Smith 8. I've liked Smith since I first saw him preseason and he is proving a very shrewd free acquisition. His game is developing well and he is becoming more of a footballer with his back to goal. A blossoming partnership with McCormack could see him retaining his place unless we make a very good signing in January. Still a work in progress I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Matt finish the season with 15-20 goals to his name.
McCormack 9. Since moving back up front Ross has been what makes Leeds United tick. Hungry for the ball he is racking up the assists too and once he gets the ball on the right side of the 18 yard box he is putting decent crosses in for Smith with some regularity. Looks fitter, faster and deadlier. Ross has had good runs of form in the past but this one shows no signs of abating.
Subs:
Brown 7. Steadied the ship. Good break forward. Did his job.
Love that the we finally have a real solid force in central defense, something we craved for years and years. Was highly skeptical of Commander Z, but my words are eaten and gratefully so. Add Wootten back in the mix, and watch the talent and skill grow even more.
RIP Twiggster, March 5, 2023
Chris & Kevin | Never Forgotten | April 5, 2000
Gary Andrew Speed, MBE — Always In Our Hearts, 1969-2011
Great report Doc...sounded as if scoreline flattered us...but i'd take that any day !!
Most plagiarists, like the drone, have neither taste to select, industry to acquire, nor skill to improve, but impudently pilfer the honey ready prepared, from the hive......
Fabulous report, Dr. Thank you.
Simple game - score some, prevent any.
We must be staring to get a good balance between style and effectiveness.
Nice to see 3 different scorers.
Am I correct in thinking that, after Derby Co, we are one of the most in form teams over past 10 games?
MeeTa wrote:
Dont worry, i believe your rating as he gave Austin a 7 which is completely rubbish
Austin is so poor especially away from ER it untrue, runs around like a headless chicken making mistake after mistake but for some reason he appears to be a cult hero so he gets away with his errors as the fans constantly chant Rudy, Rudy, Rudy where as the likes of Peltier & Pugh are not given such lienency !
It certainly wasn't his best game but he won the free kick that led to our first goal, was involved in the build up to the second. His pass set McCormack off on his run down the right then somehow he was on the left side of the box to lash the cross in a few seconds later for the third.
1964white wrote:
Austin is so poor especially away from ER it untrue, runs around like a headless chicken making mistake after mistake but for some reason he appears to be a cult hero so he gets away with his errors as the fans constantly chant Rudy, Rudy, Rudy where as the likes of Peltier & Pugh are not given such lienency !
Im not surprised a rubbish footballer who tackles hard gets a cult hero status in England.
MeeTa wrote:
Im not surprised a rubbish footballer who tackles hard gets a cult hero status in England.
That made me chuckle a bit. Thing is, his heart is in the right place, works hard, and does have the odd stellar match. Kind of like the rest of English football.
RIP Twiggster, March 5, 2023
Chris & Kevin | Never Forgotten | April 5, 2000
Gary Andrew Speed, MBE — Always In Our Hearts, 1969-2011
I like Austin, I said this to Pat who is not impressed with him at all. I said to leave him alone as Thomas has an Austin Bear, she gave me a look so i continued with Austin Bear sits alongside Becchio 'Bear, Howson Bear, Snoddy Bear and Gradel Bear so Pat said he'll be off soon then
I'm going back to 505, I saw them at Sheffield and they were amazing.
Crude wrote:
That made me chuckle a bit. Thing is, his heart is in the right place, works hard, and does have the odd stellar match. Kind of like the rest of English football.
You're right in that respect Dan, Austin is full of heart, a real trier & a likeable player. Unfortunately his game is littered with mistakes, although he took his chance well v Donny, he can't shoot, can't pass & as our captain he goes missing at the heart of our midfield which opened up like the Red Sea on Saturday. His tackling can be a plus but Rudi does get caught out of position when he runs around like a headless chicken. I've always felt Austin is a much better player at ER, thing is you never know what you'll get with Rudi, when he's bad he is really dire !
