Cup Run

Some signs of hope.

After hearing the team I spent the next 5 minutes trying to work out who was playing where. It seemed to be;

Sully
Marques, Foxe, Heath, Elliott
Blake, Nicholls, Howson, Lewis
Healy, Moore

Which you might think is a bit too full of lightweight attacking players and short of strong defensive players (especially midfielders) and you’d be right. For most of the first half we had short spells of tidy little passing football in their half without ever really getting a shot in. However, I thought they were going to score every time they got the ball.

Our midfield was largely non-existent and West Brom kept spreading it wide where neither full-back had much cover so Kamara and Koumas were doing much as they like. Marques in particular was getting skinned too easily. Strangely the 2 goals in the first 15 minutes didn’t come this way. The first one arrived from a corner that flew across the face of goal and was stabbed home via a deflection at the far post. The second one from a goal-kick where Hartson simply held off the defender and ran through on his own to score. Hartson largely murdered our centre-backs and had a header well saved by Sully and put another wide of the post.

You’d have though Wise and Poyet might have known it’s a good idea to have some midfielders.

At least they tried to change it second half and made 3 changes, Sa, Derry and (Aunt) Flo coming on for Heath, Howson and Moore, with Marques switching back to centre-back. And you know what we actually played pretty well. Suddenly with Derry next to him, Nicholls started to control the game, Lewis, Blake and Healy got plenty of ball in good positions and we made chances. Derry headed straight at the keeprr from 6 yards, Flo hit it straight at him sliding in on the end of a Lewis cross, Nicholls miskicked another chance and Healy and Flo both let defenders catch up with them when seemingly clean through.

Ok we were still vulnerable on the break and they scored again and hit the bar but we were easily the better team and played as well as we have for a couple of months and actually deserved our goal, bundled in by god knows who after Flo’s shot had looped up off the keepers legs.

Sully 6 – Not a lot of chance with goals – 1 very good save.

Marques 6 – Tried to support from right-back but struggled when WBA had time to run at him – looked a bit better in the middle.

Foxe / Heath 5 – No real confidence in either of them.

Elliott 6 – Stuck at it but reduced to fouling Kamara when he couldn’t keep up with him.

Lewis 7 – Got in lots of good positions but never really got the delivery right, at least was trying to cover back.

Nicholls 8 – Storming second half – loved it when he jumped into the crowd to wrestle the ball of the stewards – this guy wants to win.

Howson 5 – Bit lost in the middle – not sure we can play him and Blake together.

Blake 6 – Nice touches, but a bit wasteful and a defensive liability

Healy 6 – Does appear to be trying a bit more, like Lewis got in good positions without achieving much.

Moore 6 – No better or worse than the others.

Subs
Sa 6 – Long way away but looked comfortable enough – one crucial sliding tackle from behind where it was penalty otherwise.

Derry 7 – Helped balance the team.

Aunt Flo 6 – Nice touches and should have scored, but not really fit often 30 yards behind when Lewis, Healy were looking to cross it.

Wise 5 – 3 for picking the wrong team, 7 for realising and correcting it.

Leeds crowd supported team well despite the inevitable defeat – a good turnout especially considering the Baggies barely bothered.

Matt