This is one of those draws that feels like a win. I’d underestimated Leeds as they showed themselves to be a powerful side and they ran us ragged at times while defending well. But we kept at it right to the end and however strange our equalizer was, we deserved it for our perseverance.
BEFORE
I’m really looking forward to being at tonight’s match and it’s shaping up to be a great night. The only problem is that I'm currently on the train trying to get from London to Sunderland and due to severe delays I’m having to travel via Manchester so I'm just hoping I get there in time to get home and then get to the match. Anyway, Leeds are currently three points below us and if they beat us by enough goals tonight, they'll replace us at the top so they’ll definitely be going for it. I don't see them winning, thankfully, as I reckon we'll get at least a draw. By all accounts Gnonto is their most dangerous attacking player. As it's only three days since our last game, there'll probably be a bit of a shuffle in our starting line-up. Match prediction: 2-1 to us.
I got home three hours later than planned but managed to make a rapid turnaround and was in my seat in the East Stand at 7.15. I’d thought it was a 7.45 kick-off so I was even earlier than usual as it turned out. I got the team-news on the bus on the way over and saw that we were unchanged since Tuesday but new man Connolly was on the bench. My mate predicted a 1-0 win. This was my first experience of the new light show. It was okay but I preferred the sound.
THE MATCH
Both sets of fans were in good voice as the game kicked off. We were awarded two free-kicks for fouls in the second minute so maybe that was a sign of things to come. A great move in the fifth minute led to a chance for Jobe but this time his powerful shot was over the bar. Gnonto went on one of his runs just after that and was brought down at the left angle of our box but we survived the free-kick when an effort was blasted well over the top. We went ahead in the ninth minute with a move started down the left featuring Cirkin laying on a couple of back-heels before the ball came over to the right and then back across the box by Hume. I thought the first shot from Cirkin had gone in but Rigg was there to hit it home Meslier’s stop from close range. Cirkin was involved again shortly afterwards when we won a corner on our right but he couldn’t get his body right and he stumbled. In the sixteenth Mundle hit a curling shot on target but Meslier had it well covered. Leeds pressed and looked dangerous but we were stretching five across the back and that, plus some good luck, saw us through. It didn’t last for long, though, as in the twenty-second Gnonto put in a cross from the right and Piroe was there to head strongly past Patto.
Our defence started to look decidedly wobbly as we came under strong pressure and the Leeds fans were making most of the noise. A strong shot from Gnonto wasn’t far over in the twenty-eighth while we hadn’t seen much action up the other end for a while. A low shot by Roberts in the thirty-fifth forced Meslier into a save and things were starting to look up. Soon after that Rodon was yellow-carded for a blatant foul on Isidor (according to BBC Sport but I thought it was Jobe) in full flow. Five minutes before the break Jobe had another good scoring chance when a low cross came over from the right but he steered his shot wide of the left post. Two minutes later he had another chance but this time his shot went wide of the right post. He was closing in, I hoped. Mundle went down in the box and looked injured but referee Tim Robinson wasn’t having a penalty and Mundle was able to carry on. There was only one minute of added-time and as the half-time whistle went there was a decent ripple from our fans. We’d come back pretty strongly in the final ten minutes or so after looking like we’d lost the plot.
We conceded a free-kick within ten seconds and Jobe was booked so it wasn’t the greatest of starts for us. Leeds were pressing us right back and a couple of our clearances in the box were decidedly alarming. By the fifty-second we’d recovered and were piling on some pressure of our own, winning a corner on our left. It resulted in a Mepham shot that wasn’t far wide. Leeds took the lead in the fifty-sixth when Firpo shot home, again assisted by Gnonto. We’d let them break through after three of our defenders had failed to get the ball off one of their players despite surrounding him. I still felt there was at least another goal in the game, though either side could get it. We won another corner on the hour but it came to nothing. Four minutes later we won another and again gained nothing from it.
As we entered the game’s final quarter I felt that 2-2 would be a good result all in all. An O’Nien shot in the seventieth sailed well over but we were putting some decent attacks together and were keeping Meslier busy. A bit too busy for his liking as he was down injured for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile Rigg went off to much applause and was replaced by Browne. Isidor had a decent header and we were still putting some attacks together but all too often a bad pass or poor interception ended the chance. Ten minutes left and there was obviously plenty of time for us to get that equalizer. I wondered if Connolly would make his debut and make himself a star. Roberts was subbed by Watson with about seven minutes to go and I was pleased with that. We soon won another corner and when it was taken at the second attempt, Meslier just managed to get his hands on it. There was going to be a fair bit of added time as another Leeds player was down injured for a good while.
Six minutes of added-time were duly announced and Leeds won a corner in the ninety-third when I’d thought they were about to score another. We then won one ourselves and it only resulted in a Cirkin shot being blasted over. The time was almost up and the lad next to me said what we’ve all said many a time, “We’ll never score if we played till midnight.” Then we scored. It was one of the strangest goals I’ve ever seen as Browne hit a fairly innocuous effort goalwards and Meslier, who had shown a dependable pair of hands up till then and looked sure to take the ball easily suddenly did a bit of a shimmy, missed the ball completely and it bobbled joyfully into the net to send the place completely doolally. I noticed that BBC Sport said it was a Firpo own goal but so what? A goal’s a goal. Leeds hadn’t given up and mustered another attack and gave us the heebie-jeebies again till the whistle went. Yer bugger!
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