Reports

Leeds have done battle with Hull twice this season and in both matches Leeds played the better football but Hull always tough and resilient, managed a draw on both occasions .  So it was smiles all-round after this much deserved Leeds victory.

The first half was a mirror image of the previous two encounters with Leeds dominating possession and it was no surprise when Leeds took the lead on 11 minutes.  Tom Lyman, always a difficult player for any defence to cope with, lost his marker on the edge of the area, his pass inside the full back was perfection and the finish by Rhys Jenkinson clinical 1 - 0 Leeds.  Earlier the lively Micaiah Williams had a couple of chances as Leeds with Danny Hebditch pulling the strings in midfield opened up the Hull defence at will.  It was that man Hebditch who was the next to go close on 13 minutes when his 25 yard shot was inches past the right hand post.  Rhys Jenkinson buzzing after the goal was a constant threat down the right with his pace and crossing ability.  Two of Rhys's crosses, one which whizzed across the box, the other resulting in a Lucas Smedley header just wide of the post nearly saw Leeds go 2 up.  At the other end Hull were offering very little as Leeds were forcing them into playing route one football.  This was more than dealt with by the cool head of Tom Kilbride and pace of Danny Meston.  Even when the defence were disrupted by a Sam Williamson injury the Leeds back four now including Elliot Jewitt along with the reliable Lewis Hirst were in total control.

The second half started with Leeds temporarily going to sleep and allowing Hull their first meaningful chance on goal.  Fortunately Danny Wright was alert to the danger and pulled off a good save.  Leeds bounced back, Jenkinson and Gibson both went close with shots that went wide and over after good Leeds build up play.  Hull could see the game slipping away and made a tactical change playing now with 3 strikers.  This did cause Leeds problems, the rock solid defence of the first half were starting to panic and a few desperate clearances were required.  It was from one of these clearances that Jack Bagnall calmed everybodys nerves.  After good work by Tom Lyman on the halfway line Jack was put in the clear, with a defender in pursuit and 20 yards out Jack unleashed a terrific left foot shot high into the top corner.  The shear delight on Jack's face was mirrored on the touchline by Mr Rossiter and Mr Smith and a sense of relief swept over the whole team.  Leeds were now looking to put the game to bed.  Shaun Gibson went on a good run and was brought down on the edge of the area, the resulting free kick from Danny Hebditch was on target but the goalie positioned himself well to make a good save.  Minutes later Sam Capitano released Tom Lyman with a terrific pass down the left hand side which resulted in Leeds winning a corner. Tom Lyman stepped up to take it and his inswinger saw Jack Bagnall's goal bound header somehow scrambled clear by the Hull Keeper.  In the 50th minute the Leeds crowd thought the game was over when Tom Lyman finished superbly only for it to be cancelled out for offside.  How crucial could that decision have been when Hull pulled a goal back and left Leeds with a nervous last five minutes?  Mr Rossiter sent out the message (come on boys don't let this one slip) which made everybody step up their game.  Danny Powell who had worked non-stop throughout the match was replaced by the more defensive Lucas Smedley to tighten things up.  There were a couple of tense moments near the end but nothing to trouble Alex Cain who was now in goal.

This was a much deserved Leeds win after some recent unlucky results and will hopefully give the boys a much needed boost for the forthcoming games.

 
Leeds'A' 0 v Huyton 2

Saturday 5th Janaury Leeds City Boys B vs York A West Yorkshire League Match

On a blustery Saturday morning the wind proved a major obstacle for Leeds who failed to get their usual passing game going.

The first 5 minutes were scrappy as both sides tried to accustom themselves to the conditions.

York piled on some early pressure on the Leeds back four with Brandon Linley in the Leeds goal comfortably smothering a couple of York through balls.

The first Leeds chance came on 14 minutes as Billy Lumsden ran onto a clearance only to see the York keeper quick off his line to take easily.

The game began to flow from end to end and Callum Rzonca's glancing header tested the York keeper from Pat Gibbons deep ball.

York broke on the counter attack immediately and Brandon Linley thwarted a long range strike from 25 yards out.

On 18 minutes York broke down the Leeds right and Adam Jameson was forced to concede a corner at the Leeds near post which came to nothing.

A couple of minutes later York won a free kick twenty yards out. The delivery was good and Brandon Linley did well to parry the cross only to see the ball drop to a York player but he bravely dived at his feet to save Leeds.

York started to dominate possession now and Leeds were under intense pressure. On 27 minutes a York corner was cleared by Adam Jameson.

York continued to pile on the pressure until the half time whistle and may have considered themselves slightly unlucky to go in level at the break.

There were a couple of changes for Leeds at half time as Jamie Hallas replaced Tom Barratt at right back and Hashim Daneshyar replaced Ross Goldsborough releasing Ben Palmer to play in a more advanced position from midfield.

The second half started poorly for Leeds as York broke the deadlock in the 32^nd minute after capitalising on a poor defensive clearance leaving the York front man to advance unopposed into the area and slot the ball into the bottom corner to make it     0 -1 to the visitors.

York continued to push forward and Tom Fisher did well to clear a deep cross off the Leeds line for a corner which was dealt with comfortably by the City defence.

On 38 minutes Leeds earned a free kick deep in the York half. It was taken short to Tom Fisher who delivered the ball into the area. Once again York broke quickly and tested Alex Bullivant in the Leeds net who had only just come on as a replacement for Brandon Linley seconds earlier.

The game started to get a little stretched and on 45^th minutes Leeds broke down the right with Hashim Daneshyay who sent a diagonal flashing cross all the way across the York six yards box without anyone in a white shirt managing to turn it home.

A couple of minutes later Leeds got the equaliser. From a York attack, Adam Jameson sent a long ball from the eighteen yard box into the York half over the heads of the back four and Callum Rzonca did extremely well to hold his nerve after running the full length of the half to finish under the advancing keeper.

Tom Barratt replaced Callum Rzonca in midfield on 50 minutes as the home side were having to deal with more York pressure as they endeavoured to regain the lead.

The away side gained the advantage soon after with a long range lob beating Alex Bullivant as it dropped over his head into the far corner to make in 1 -2 to York.

The visitors were now in the ascendancy and seemed lifted by their second goal. They finally finished Leeds off late on with a long range strike which left Alex Bullivant helpless in the City net. 1-3

Leeds  0 v Huddersfield Academy 5

A 5- 0 score line does not do justice to a very creditable Leeds performance.  The game was split into two 25 and two 12 and half minute periods.  In the first 25 Leeds more than matched their Academy rivals, strikers Bagnall and Jenkinson both looking hungry for the ball and keeping the Huddersfield defence on their toes, were finding room.  It was Jenkinson who fired a couple of early shots just wide that sent the message to Huddersfield that this Leeds team had improved on their early season performance.  Danny Powell too was in bullish mood and showed his prowess at free kicks when he tested the keeper on 10 minutes after Shaun Gibson was fouled.  When playing teams of this standard you have to except they will put you under a certain amount of pressure and the Leeds defence coped superbly.  Meston, Jewitt, Kilbride and Hirst were all outstanding in the first 25 and the goal that Huddersfield did score had an element of luck, a shot from outside the area took a couple of unfortunate ricochets and fell kindly to the Huddersfield striker who finished well past the unlucky Danny Wright.  Before that Huddersfield had been kept outside the box and were shooting from distance.

The second 25 was the best period of the match.  The midfield of Gibson, Hebditch and Powell were finding more room and the passes started to flow.  The game was end to end, the fresh legs of half time subs Tom Lyman and Miciaiah Williams were adding more life to the Leeds attack.  The always dangerous Jenkinson and Hebditch both went agonisingly close, with shots that went inches over the bar and just past the post for what would have been a deserved equaliser.  Huddersfield were also creating chances and stretching Leeds with the ability to keep the ball moving, the defence again stood tall, blocking and tackling everything that moved.  They were ably supported by replacement goalkeeper Alex Cain who pulled off a superb save on 42 minutes diving to his left to tip the ball round the post.  Leeds went in at the break with their heads held high having not conceding a goal in the 25 minutes and not looking out of place with the football that was being played.

The last 25 minutes split into two 12 and a half minute halves belonged to Huddersfield.  Leeds did hit the post when a Huddersfield defender nearly deflected into his own net but that apart it was all Huddersfield as Leeds ran out of gas.  This is understandable, Huddersfield train 3 times a week and play matches that last 15 minutes longer, fitness was always going to be a factor especially when the tempo of the game is slightly higher than Leeds are used to.  In most matches this season Leeds has had 4 outfield subs and in some cases too many substitutions has unbalanced the flow of the team.  Against Huddersfield Leeds only had 2 but with the extra time being played, 2 extra pairs of fresh legs may have stopped Leeds conceding 4 goals in the last 18 minutes to make a score line of 5-0 that was very harsh on Leeds.

This was another very encouraging performance.  Every player gave 100% commitment against quality opposition.  A special mention to Sam Capitano who again showed his versatility by playing 3 different positions at different stages of the game with the same no nonsense approach as always.  BRING ON YORK NEXT WEEK.

Hull V Leeds 1-1 Saturday 15th December

Leeds travelled to Hull two days after a traumatic game against Barnsley where Leeds played some brilliant football but amazingly conceded four goals in the last 15 minutes after being 1-0 up and in cruise control for much of the game.

Any signs of shellshock were quickly dispelled with a confident first 15 minutes, Danny Powell fresh from a dazzling performance against Barnsley glanced the post on 5 minutes with a tremendous curling shot, then latched onto a Tom Lyman pass a minute later only to be dispossessed by a smart tackle inside the penalty area by a Hull defender.  Miciaiah Williams did have the ball in the net after another slick Leeds move but was unfortunately judged offside.  On 17 minutes the Leeds parents must have thought they were back in Barnsley when Hull took an undeserved lead.  A rare attack produced Hull's first corner of the game and like at Barnsley Leeds inability to deal with crosses saw Leeds go a goal down.  The rest of the half followed the same pattern with Leeds playing quality football, the defence of Capitano, Jewitt, Kilbride and Hirst were generally untroubled except for one hopeful long ball by Hull that brought the best out of Tom Kilbride who produced a superb well timed tackle on the on rushing Hull forward.  The central midfield of Shaun Gibson and Sam Williamson were both moving the ball around well and Jack Bagnall another stand out player against Barnsley was always causing problems up front with his strength and good touch.  The Referee didn't endear himself to the Leeds parents or coaching staff by blowing the half time whistle three minutes early but the half time rumpus did cause some light entertainment with the ref. At one point it looked like Doc might be the one to go when he was seen heading away from the field but it turned out he was only stretching his legs.  This was a major over reaction by the man in black as Leeds were only asking the question about his time keeping and no hostility was shown by the Leeds coaches at all.

Leeds made changes at half time with Lucas Smedley, Rhys Jenkinson, Daniel Meston and Danny Hebditch coming on in the outfield and Alex Cain replacing Danny Wright in goal.  Leeds dominated the second half like they had in the first.  Dan Hebditch back from injury was prominent in most of the Leeds attacks and scored a well deserved equaliser with 15 minutes to go, a corner from the right was only half cleared by the Hull defence and Dan was on hand to coolly finish in the bottom corner.  Two minutes later a move involving Hebditch and Lyman caused panic in the Hull defence and nearly resulted in an own goal by a Hull defender.

Leeds were now swarming all over Hull whose only outlet was long balls to the two quick boys up front, these were more than dealt with by Tom Kilbride and the versatile  Sam Williamson now playing central defence.  Danny Meston playing right back was having a tremendous tussle with the Hull left winger but Danny was coming out on top and causing Hull problems with his attacking ability, especially when supported by the none stop running of Sam Capitano.   Lucas Smedley was joining the attack down the left from left back where some scintillating football was being played involving Smedley, Hebditch, Gibson, Powell and Tom Lyman.  Rhys Jenkinson's pace and movement up front was pulling defenders out of position and giving space for team mates to exploit with which Danny Hebditch did with five minutes to go after a great run his well struck shot missed the post by inches just when the ball looked to be on its way in.  Leeds kept on pressing right to the end but it was one of those days when the winner just would not come.

This was a disappointing result for Leeds but again the performance was good and if they keep playing like this then the good times will be just around the corner.  The goalkeepers Danny Wright and Alex Cain were only troubled once in either half  and the team spirit and passing movements showed signs of a team coming together.

LEEDS B v FELLING (2:2) Saturday 1st December

The Leeds 'B'team had been exiled to the windswept playing fields of Rodillian High school for this clash against an 'A' squad from Gateshead

Doc Towers was in charge for the morning and if his pre match comments were anything to judge by the Leodian sage had a 'back to basics' footballing strategy in mind.

It was no surprise then when Leeds lined up in a 4:4:2 formation. Alex Fox-Bullivant took up guard in the Leeds goal. Felling attired in a kit reminiscent of Nottingham Forest and with the backing of a wind high on the Beaufort scale exerted early pressure but Alex F-B provided good cover for the defence and exhibited solid handling.

Elliott Jewitt and Tom Fisher attempted to relieve pressure and early sorties by Ross Goldsborough and Micaiah Williams into the Felling half were prompted by Kieran Booth.

Leeds survived an early scare when Jamie Hallas at right back miscued a clearance. The ball lobbed over Alex F-B towards the open goal. In an instant the Horsforth keeper turned and dived headlong towards his own line. His effort was assisted by a slide in the goalmouth mud. He got one of his huge hands on top of the ball scooped it backwards and immediately presented it to the referee for inspection.  The official was convinced that the ball had not crossed the line and the match continued. Felling protested that a goal had been scored but only the St Margarets stopper will ever know for certain whether Leeds should have been a goal down.

Leeds continued to defend in numbers seeing off a succession of Felling corners. Just as the half appeared destined to remain goaless the Felling centre forward broke down the right, he crossed and a diminutive attacker slid the ball into the left hand corner of the Leeds goal.

Following the restart Jamie Hallas had to leave the field with an injury. The only Leeds substitute available was keeper Alex Cain. A quick change of shirt and he took up position on the right of midfield.

The Leeds defence with the versatile Callum Marshall shifting to right back and the industry of James McGonogal and Joe McLaughlin saw out the remainder of the half.

Leeds kicked off the second half with the strengthening breeze at their backs. Alex Cain returned to goal and Alex F-B took up position in centre midfield.

Leeds were on top from the start and Hashim Daneshyar looked particularly lively down the right.

Felling were looking to score on the break and Alex Cain was required to stand firm and parry in a couple of one on one situations with Felling forwards.

On the eleventh minute Tom Fisher produced one of his exquisite left footed passes to bisect the Felling defence. Hashim Daneshyar ran on to the ball and lobbed the on rushing Felling keeper to level the contest.

Kieran Booth was taking control of midfield but on the fifteenth minute it was his deputy, Alex F-B, who supplied a slide rule pass to Ross Goldsborough on the right of the box. Ross's shot was well saved by the keeper. Hashim Daneshyar followed up and hit the crossbar.  Mayhem ensued and Felling were lucky to clear the ball off the line.

On the sixteenth minute Leeds won their first corner. The ball was initially cleared but Tom Fisher chipped a super cross to the far post for Ross Goldsborough to clinically finish.

Leeds appeared to be in control but as the clock ran down Felling attacked. Leeds failed to clear and in the dying seconds scrambled home an equaliser. 

The lateness of the Felling goal initially tarnished a good performance by Leeds 'B' but on reflection another two goal draw was a fair result in difficult conditions against strong opposition.