After looking like we were going to get a battling draw to boost our hopes of automatic promotion we again succumbed to a very late goal and that was a right sickener. Two of Leeds subs, Rothwell and Struijk, were real game-changers.
BEFORE
This game has taken on the status of an epic clash in my mind and it's bringing back memories from the early Sixties of the rivalry we had with Leeds when we were both pushing for promotion from Division 2. I'll be heading off to Kings Cross in an hour or so to catch the train and I'm really looking forward to being at the match. I was at the home fixture back in early October and I think that Leeds are by far the best side we've faced this season and they'll surely be promoted, probably as champions. I still think that we're going to get something from tonight's game, though. It's great news that Browne and especially Mundle will be in contention for a place this evening and it could well mean that at some point we'll see Le Fee and Isidor in the centre with Mundle sticking crosses over to them. Leeds will be a real handful and Gnonto looked very dangerous to me so we'll probably concede. Goalkeeper Meslier has apparently continued to be on the wobbly side so let’s hope he’s that way tonight. Match prediction: 1-1.
I had a few drinks with an old friend from Leeds in the Griffin in the city centre and lots of our fans came in there as the afternoon went on. Then I managed to find the special R2 bus that runs directly to Elland Road (£2 return for us old timers and for Leeds fans only apparently). I bumped into ALS colleagues in the packed bar at the ground and in the very crowded gents it got a bit spooky when someone put all the lights out and it was pitch dark. I was in my seat right on the goal-line about half an hour before kick-off and the atmosphere was great. There weren't any changes in our starting line-up, with Mepham on the bench again, and Browne and Mundle were among the subs. Our bench looked the strongest it'd been for a while. I was pleased to see that Gnonto was only on the bench for them.
THE MATCH
We were playing in red and white and we started brightly with a powerful shot from Jobe being parried by Meslier in the second minute. That was pretty much it for a while as Leeds soon started to put the pressure on with Bogle, with his speed and clever dribbling, causing us a lot of problems down their right. They won five corners in about twelve minutes while we didn’t manage one but our defence was holding fast at least and all our players were tackling like terriers. In the nineteenth minute a very firm but fair tackle by Hume put Solomon on the ground for a minute or two but he was able to continue. I don’t know what had happened with the ticketing but the stairs just to my left were packed with people for the whole of the first-half and the stewards didn’t seem to be able to direct them to where they should have been. There were four young lads crammed into the two spaces to my right. It was a bit like the old days at Roker Park.
Anyway in the twenty-fourth we conceded a free-kick just outside our box on the left and we managed to hoof it clear and shortly after that O’Nien and Patto got into some awful farting around at the back instead of making sure the ball was well clear but we escaped without punishment. Enzo, whose praises were repeatedly being sung by our fans, was down injured for a while but soon picked himself up and got on with things. Then just after the half-our mark Tanaka became the first of a number of players to get a yellow card, for a bad foul on Neil. Suddenly we were in the lead when Isidor received the ball from Ballard as he ran into the right side of their penalty-area and with his usual panache made space where none appeared to be available, hitting a shot that bounced off the left post and then seemed to take an eternity to go over the line. Everyone around me went completely doolally and there was promptly a chant of, “Leeds, Leeds are falling apart again.” I found time to wonder if Ian Curtis had been a Macclesfield fan.
It was a much more even game after our goal but Leeds always looked threatening and they got another corner and a free-kick in a dangerous spot. There were four minutes of added-time during which Isidor was booked and we won a free-kick and forced Meslier into making a save. As the half-time whistle went things were looking good.
We were attacking our end as the second period began and again we started brightly with a good lob from Roberts finding Hume in the box and he hit a shot on target. After that, though, we gradually started to fall back as Leeds put more pressure on and I was glad that their shooting left a lot to be desired. The only thing that brought some light relief for me was a chant of, “Jimmy Savile – he’s one of your own.” In the sixty-sixth Leeds had a strong shot on target for a change but it had taken a deflection off, I think, O’Nien.
Roberts also had an effort on target in the sixty-ninth but Meslier had it well covered. Our fans were still in great voice with repeated chants of, “On our way! On our way! To the Premier, we’re on our way” but there were still twenty minutes to go and we were struggling to soak up the pressure and were resorting to big boots to anywhere to get the ball clear. In the seventy-second Leeds brought on Rothwell and Struijk and three minutes later we also made a double switch, bringing on Abdul Samed and Mayenda for Rigg and Isidor, who went off to a great ovation. I was looking at the time on the big screen to my right every thirty seconds and wondering if we could hold out and then in the seventy-seventh Leeds equalised. They were awarded a free-kick almost on the touch-line on their left and as it came across our goal Struijk got a deft header on it and it eluded Patto.
The Leeds fans had been quiet for a long while but they really woke up and we were all set for a grandstand final ten minutes or so. Patto was yellow-carded for timewasting and with a couple of minutes left we brought on Poveda for Roberts. I was a bit surprised to see Poveda on but he got stuck in, I’ll say that for him, and we managed a short period of rare attacking play. Five minutes of added-time were announced and my heart sank but not as much as it did about five minutes later when we had to defend a final corner. When the corner came across, it was knocked out to our left but the ball immediately came in again from Rothwell and Struijk was there once more to power in a header after Patto couldn’t punch it clear. That was the cue for almost everyone around me to hurry to the exits with much cursing and gnashing of teeth. It soon ended 2-1 to Leeds.
