Leeds 4 - Nottingham 1 18th October 2008
So far this season Leeds have shown what a good footballing side they are. Even in the horror show against York they never stopped playing football in the right manner, but sometimes conditions and opposition dictate that along with nice football you have to dig in be tough and fight fire with fire. With a swirling wind and a Nottingham side short on the niceties of football but strong athletic and right in your face, this was always going to be a battle. The 4-1 score line suggests that Leeds came through this test with flying colours; yes they were helped by catching the East Midlanders cold in the first two minutes with a Tom Lyman goal after good work by Danny Powell, but the desire was there for all to see. This was particularly emphasised by powerhouse forward Jack Bagnall whose raw aggression was causing Nottingham all sorts of problems, twice Jack shot narrowly wide in the first 15 minutes and like a good boxer had the Nottingham defenders on the ropes for most of the first half. This was not a game for the faint hearted as Leeds made three substitutions in the first half due to injury. When Ali Unsworth left the field on 22 minutes after being fouled, Leeds were awarded a free kick, Danny Powell's in swinger from the left of the penalty area deceived everybody including the keeper to put Leeds 2 up. Nottingham are nothing but resilient and their main source of creativity came down the left hand side from the impressive number 11, thank goodness for Danny Meston who managed to nullify many attacks but couldn't prevent a great cross from the left finding its way into the Leeds net to make it 2-1 at the interval.
The second half started with Nottingham applying some pressure, goalkeeper Brandon Linley was equal to everything although it has to be said Nottingham should have been level when an easy chance was put wide by the Notts striker. Leeds needed to put the game to bed and when Danny Hebditch who was revelling in the physical battle since coming on at half time converted a Kieran Booth corner there was no way back for the Nottingham boys. Left back Lucas Smedley whose high fitness level allows him to move into attacking areas nearly made if 4 when his good shot was well saved by the keeper. Alternative left back Tom Clarkson is also in fine form with his composure on the ball and ability to link up with the midfield. With time running out the game ended like it started with a Tom Lyman goal as Tom returned to the fray after recovering from injury, Callum Rzonca showed great balance cutting in from the left and evading two challenges to set up Tom on the edge of the area. In a split second Tom turned on a sixpence and fired an unstoppable shot past the keeper that had class written all over it and provided a fitting end to another good Leeds performance.