How was that for entertainment?? A cracking game and a deserved result all round.

One thing we needed to see was whether or not the attacking play and movement we saw at home to Plymouth was not a one off. It is now clear that it was not but it took time to for us to demonstrate this.

Leeds came at us right from the off and battered us for the first 10-15mins. We were being over-run they were getting in behind us with worrying ease. Lewis in particluar was very good and some of his passing was incisive. Although he had the only option of receiving the ball from the middle of the park as the service from the left-back behind was poor. Harding's passing was of great amusement to the travelling Albion fans as he often skewed the ball out of play.

Harding was also getting some understandable stick from us lot but not from me. I decided long ago I was not even going to acknowledge his existance in this game but that became difficult as I could not help but laugh at his 'passing'.

The booing I did dish out was in the direction of David Healy after his goal ruined my evening in Belfast on Wednesday. He was not slow into the action either as Wanye Henderson had to be quick to smother at his feet very early on.

As Leeds poured forward they won a free-kick which Eddie Lewis took and Henderson tipped away. I was starting to get the "we are going to get mullered" feeling. This was reinforced as the pressure was relentless and an excellent ball split our defence and had Healy through. Once again we were thankfull to Henderson for his reactions and he deflected the ball away for a corner. There has been some criticism of Wayne since he has arrived but he is showing signs of improvement and did a good job yesterday.

Following his latest save from Healy, United had a corner which was met by Rob Hulse with a free header. This crashed against the bar and we were able to scramble the ball clear.

It had been non-stop pressure but then they sort of stopped. It seemed that Leeds thought that as they were creating so many chances they were bound to win so assumed they could take it easy. Whatever they thought they dropped off and gave us space. This allowed Richard Carpenter and Dean Hammond to get the chance to impose themselves on the game. This spread through the rest of the team and with the new found space we were getting the shackles were off.

The zip and verve of our forward play against Plymouth returned. With the Leeds defenders only work of the afternoon so far being to go up for set-pieces they really had no idea what hit them. The brilliant Leon Knight and Jake Robinson were once again superbly supported by Albert Jarrett and Sebastien Carole. Albert following on his workrate in his last ounting by getting back and taking on defensive duties as well.

Jarrett, Carole, Knight & Robinson were ably backed-up by Chippie & Hammond who were now finding the right passes. Watching the Elland Road club's defenders look lost and chasing shadows at times was quality. With this play we were now creating our own chances. Leon fed Robinson who looked to stick his shot across the goal and it was harmless in the end. Jake then chased another ball in from Knight but it was claimed by Ian Bennett in the Leeds goal to avert danger.

We were not putting on the sort of pressure United had been doing in the opening period of the game but the pattern of the game had changed. Leeds still did come forward but when we won the ball with were off racing up the pitch with some zest.

One such foray forward resulted in us taking the lead. Henderson collected the ball and immediately bowled it out to Jake who turned and was on his way. He in turn fed Sebastien on the left and he steamed forward. He did not get the chance to get a cross over at the first attempt as he got snagged up. When his low cross did eventually come over Knight slid in to connect perfectly and put us infront. Despite being under the cosh for the first part of the game this lead was not entirely undeserved.

Our goal really did move the game up another notch as the remaining 15mins or so of the first saw some quality end-to-end football. United would come forward and then we would get the ball and launch another raid ourselves. This period saw Hulse miss a couple of free headers and Bennett get down smartly do save a near post shot from Robinson. Also United had a penalty appeal when Hulse (I think) decided to throw himself to the ground. This was in addittion to another smart Albion move where Hammond clipped the bar with a header from a Knight cross after he passed to Leon initially. But at half-time it was 1-0 and all was looking good.

Kevin Blackwell obviously tore into his team at the break as they flew at us once more. In the Plymouth match we made things easy for ourselves by bagging a second straight after the re-start we did not do that at Elland Road but after a good Leeds start to the second half we did add to our tally.

Knight found Carole on the right of the box and he took one touch shifted position and looked up. I think everyone in the ground knew where Sebastien was going to put the ball but Bennett was unable to stop the shot and we were 2 up.

Sebastien Carole looks an absolutely quality find and other teams will soon become aware of him. This is a player who can make things happen both for himself and for other people. It might be an idea to have another look at his contract soon.

Leeds United were coming forward once more and we had the similar pattern that we ended the first-half with as the game went end-to-end once more. This enabled us to break in the way we had become accustomed to and we could have even added a third with a bit more luck and craft. Carole should have played Knight in with a cute ball when on the edge of the area but he didn't and the chance was wasted. Next up was Albert who had a great run beating a couple of players before being tripped from behind.

But Leeds were still attacking and on 65mins they got the breakthrough they were after. David Healy fired in from close range as he ran onto a low cross. Then that man struck again just 5mins later to completely wipe out our lead. A high ball was played in and when our defence failed to clear it dropped to Healy who lashed it home for the equaliser.

United sensed victory and went in search of the winner which left spaces at the back. We carried on attacking in the same vein but now we had Leon on the right wing as Colin Kazim-Richards had replaced Albert and we had a little re-shuffle. CKR was lively and nearly restored our lead when he picked the ball up in a similar position to that of Carole when he scored. He turned cleverly and knocked the ball past the defender but Bennet came out swiftly and smothered at Colin's feet.

At the other end Wayne did brilliantly to tip over for a corner. Another incident of note was when Dean picked up our first booking when he took out Dan Harding to the delight of everyone in the away end. Dean was having a particuarly good game as he is improving into a complete midfield player.

With about 7 mins left we did regain the lead. Kazim-Richards passed to Knight who was on the right and he played in a low centre. Robinson was close to the ball but did not look like he would cause any danger. This mattered not as Sean Gregan did the honnours and turned the ball into his own net.

We were 3-2 up and all that was needed was a last big effort from the lads to hold out. We were defending doggedly which was typified by Gary Hart's rather robust challenge on the edge of our area. Harty had another accomplished game at full-back with some decent tackles which was different from the Argyle game where he just seemed to barge people. With his ability to naturally get forward as well I feel he could be an asset in his new position but I suppose time will tell.

Speaking of time, there was hardly any left when Leeds got another equalising goal to square the game once and for all. Another ball was launched into the area and fell to Healy once more. His shot was expertly saved by Henderson who kept it out depsite moving in the oppopsite direction. Unfortunately for us the ball fell invitingly for Douglas who had the simple task of tapping in.

It was a cruel blow having been so close to the 3 points but a draw was a fair result on reflection of the game. Also, there have been many occasions like Forest away last season where we have spent ages holding on for a win and have come through so I can take us letting this one slip. The only sad thing is once we were 2-0 up you should not be throwing those sorts of leads away.

But it was enjoyable watching Knight give Dan the run around in near the end of the game and it was a bit of a shame we did not see Carole make a complete idiot of him during the game.

That said I would have taken a draw at the start of the game so I cannot be too upset and if we carrying on attacking like we do then we will be causing even the top teams some problems.

It certainly made up for that rubbish I sat and watched on Wednesday and it was a belting game.

Albion & England forever.

Thimble Keegan
Belfast BHA