|
It was the revulsion that for years dare not speak it’s name.
No, not anti-Semitism, the actions of
Israel and Sacha Baron Cohen
make Jew bashing quasi-acceptable and funny. I’m referring of
course to the enmity felt between supporters of Leeds United and
Hull City.
From the Tiger Nation’s point of view, it felt silly to vocalise
the (fully justified) loathing of the White Shite when Leeds
were cutting a swath through the Champions League and City were
failing to cut it against Rochdale in the LDV Trophy, it smacked
of green eyed envy and a failure to accept just how far we’d
fallen since the glory days of, err, Yorkshire Cup triumph. As
for fans of Leeds, well for them, we had fallen off the radar,
the ’scum’ they spoke of when using an epithet for hated rivals,
was Manchester United.
Ho ho, how
things change. A conversation between two
Leeds supporting heems in the
Elland Road
car park on Saturday went like this… “What stand have
Hull got?”, “South”, “Aagh no, I can’t
believe we’ve given the scum the South Stand!”
“The Scum”.
That’s us that. Hehe. We’re firmly on the White Shiter’s radar
nowadays, having beaten them at our place last season and with
both teams currently occupying slots in the relegation zone. In
the run up to this game Dirty Leeds hadn’t won in four whereas
we came off the back of a highly impressive mauling of
Cardiff. Phil Brown sought to further his
cause for permanent appointment as manager with a decent result
today but his options were limited by the unavailability of five
key players, John Welsh is injured, lack of fitness following
injury kept out Nick Barmby and top scorer Jon Parkin, captain
Ian Ashbee has succumbed to illness and the deal that brought
David Livermore to City from Leeds rendered him ineligible for
this game.
So the Tigers lined up thus; Myhill; Dawson, Turner, Delaney,
Ricketts; Coles,
France, Marney; Fagan, McPhee,
Bridges.
In the run up
to kick off the Elland Road PA announcer was so frenzied in his
pleading with the crowd to “make some noizzzze!!! C‘mon!
C‘MON!!!” that he made our man on the mic Steve Jordan seemed an
anaesthetised sloth in comparison. The pleas were ignored on the
sparsely populated home terraces , the iconised East Stand had
the top tier closed and the lower tier had only a sprinkling of
people in it, whereas the 3000 (out of a 22000 gate) or so
’Scum’ that filled the South Stand made it resonate. I don’t
know why the Leeds fan thought us getting that stand was an
injustice, it’s jenk, with barely enough leg room between seats
to accommodate that shortest of arses Dennis Wise, who at this
point was having his wankerousness commented upon by the Tiger
Nation.
The White Shite kicked off the game, them playing towards the
Don Revie Stand kop opposite us. It wasn’t the most intense of
starts, maybe that can be attributed to the noon kick off,
everyone in the ground seemed a bit bleary eyed, or maybe that
was just the view of my own bleary eyes. Craig Fagan clipped one
of theirs near the left touchline (as we saw it) and the lino
waved his flag to get the attention of the ref, Mark
Clattenburg, once the Doogie Howser of refereeing and the man
who enraged us at Boothferry Park a few years back when he took
charge of a game v. Scunthorpe.
Playing at a quicker tempo than the home side, City had the best
of the opening period and troubled the largely shaky looking
Leeds
rearguard. Only Ugo Ehiogu of their back four had any composure
and he cut out a decent ball heading for Michael Bridges in a
timely manner, before Warner nervously punched away the ball
causing a mad scramble where several City players tried but
ultimately failed to get in a decent shot among the many bodies
in the box.
The lively
looking
France played a through ball
into the box and while his colleagues babbed themselves, once
again Ehiogu showed a cool head to cut it out. Craig Fagan, also
full of confidence and pioneering our attempt to take the game
to the home side, won a corner and was a constant nuisance to
those in white shirts.
At the other end City looked resolute. Michael Turner, back in
the side after rightfully being dropped, looked assured and
blocked a shot by Douglas and
then sent a hopeful cross from the left back where it came from
with a firm header. Dawson, Delaney and Ricketts all displayed
the same determination and nous to keep
Leeds
at bay when they had possession, and Coles, deployed in front of
them in the absence of Ashbee and Livermore, occasionally
dropped into a more familiar role to quell any danger from balls
unceremoniously slung into the mixer.
In action nearer to the away stand, Marney and Bridges had a
neat interchange but neither of them looked confident enough to
have a pop at goal and when it came the attempt from Marney was
shinned weakly towards Warner who had little trouble gathering
it. This summed up our advances in the first half, we had the
Tigers share of possession and played some nice passing football
but the nearer we got to Warner’s goal the less we looked likely
to make something out of it. Bridges had a shot from an oblique
angled charged down and the deflection fell unkindly for City
and behind Fagan as he tried to pounce.
Stephen McPhee started the game brightly but took a knock and
though he tried to continue, it was evident he could not and he
was replaced by Forster, a rapier swapped with a rusty cleaver.
Damn. Leeds put a few crosses in that amounted to nought,
Dawson
headed one away for a corner and Myhill took that ball in
cleanly. Another White Shite corner was played short but
resulted in Douglas
launching a ball into low orbit rather than troubling our green
clad netman.
The other
‘keeper was getting himself into a flap though, Warner shanked
the ball into touch unchallenged and it earned him mockery from
Fagan, who just laughed in his face. Hoho.
Leeds then forced Myhill to really show his
worth and he did so when artistically and athletically tipping
over Tresor Kandol’s close range header.
France’s name went into
Clattenburg’s notebook for failing to retreat ten yards for the
resulting corner kick. In front of us, Dean Marney drew a free
kick from about 25 yards out and took it himself, but his shot
had too much on it and was always going over the bar. Goalless
at half time then, and it had been quite a satisfactory half for
City.
After enduring the spectacle of Leeds
fans trading their dignity for the chance to win a DAB radio by
imitating an octopus in the throes of an epileptic fit, we
watched as the Tigers kicked off the second 45. Forster ambled
his way into the box, but lacking the speed or guile to go past
the markers, he laid the ball off to Ricketts who drilled the
ball in to Fagan at the far post but his header was straight at
Warner.
City continued
to look far more confident than Leeds when in possession, we
stroked the ball about with poise and purpose, whereas
Leeds clumsily knocked seemingly simple passes out
of bounds to much mirth from us. You suspected they were quite
content to get a point out of this one, and to that effect
slowed the game down where they could.
Frustratingly City went along with this and for a while sat
back, both sides containing the other rather than looking to
advance. Ryan France executed a perfect sliding challenge to
thwart dim Yank Eddie Lewis as he ran towards City’s box. As
City’s back line, holding firm for most of this game, became
increasingly shaky, the Tiger Nation urged the players to
abandoned the plan of containment and go for Leeds’ jugular,
they were vulnerable, and you suspect had a few more attacking
options been available to us, Parkin and Barmby for example,
then we’d have really gone for it.
Damien Delaney was having a great game, clearing crosses,
intercepting short passes and just breaking up White Shite moves
with breathtaking efficiency. Dawson and Ricketts too stepped up
their efforts in the second half, Daws forcing
Richardson
wide and then fooling him into giving us a goal kick. Fagan went
a great run, moving diagonally from the left wing into the box
but no City player was able to get on the end of his ball played
across goal.
Michael
Bridges was taken off and was warmly applauded by both sets of
supporters, Yeates took his place. Maybe Elliott would have been
a better option. Leeds
took advantage of our standing off them in midfield for a while,
Ricketts caught up with the boyish Jonathan Howson to make a
last ditch challenge on the edge of the box before Delaney
glanced a Lewis cross away for a corner with Myhill back
pedalling. Blake laughably claimed a corner after scooping a
shot high and wide but Clattenburg wasn’t interested. He’s grown
into a fairly decent ref that man.
He sensibly
dealt with a ruckus when the unsporting fucker Kandol received a
throw after City had put the ball out for a White Shiter to get
treatment and ran at our goal with it. Enraged, Delaney gave
chase and hacked him down and the loanee from Barnet found
himself instantly surrounded by irate Tigers (none more
indignant than the finger jabbing Fagan) who let him know in no
uncertain terms that he’d been out of order. This display of
collective indignation is good to see, it shows that Phil Brown
has installed a sense of brotherhood into the team that had been
missing in the latter stages of Parkinson’s tenure. There was
inevitably a bit of pushing and shoving as Kandol’s colleagues
gave him some belated and half arsed backing. The ref, showing
understanding at what had just happened chose to card only the
cock kick needing Kandol, although Delaney could well have
joined him in the book for his zealous outrage.
Ricketts’
quick reflexes thwarted
Leeds when he cut out Howson’s flick on with
two white shirts waiting to hit it. Shortly after the Welshman
delivered a delicious cross from the right for Fagan that was
chested down but taken off his feet as he went to strike on
goal. Ever hungry, Fagan picked up the ball 20 yards into City’s
half and proceeded to take it to the Leeds’
left bye line where he gleaned a corner. He had been superb
today. Four minutes of time were added after the regulation
forty five had expired, the pretty ineffective Yeates won a free
kick but it achieved nothing.
Three peeps of
the ref’s whistle and it was over. City had dominated the first
half, Leeds
had the most of the second, with City the better side overall.
Win your home games, draw away is the mantra, and so far Brown
is doing ok on that score, he must have improved his chances of
taking on the managers job full time, he certainly talks a good
game, we’ve been much improved under him, and since the main
other candidate is Gary Fucking Megson, I doubt many people in
attendance today would begrudge him the job. A win against
Leicester
on Boxing Day could be enough to sway Chairman Pearson to
promote from within.
Meanwhile, the
rivalry between City and the White Shite, dormant for many
years, continues to have its flames fanned. With some of the
five out today back, we should take them at the KC next month.
We’re equals now, and a
bonafide
City renaissance could
help relegate the Wessie fuckers to League One. That’d be
something to cheer eh? (LM)
Click
here for the Amber Nectar Photo Special from this game.
|
