Game Thirty Nine - Leeds United away

26th December 2008

Boxing day fixtures. Second only to FA Cup third round weekend in my opinion as it's great to see virtually every team in the country having games on the same day with the majority of teams kicking off at the same time. The motorways were full of football fans travelling to the grounds, their colours proudly on display and many feeling slightly worse for wear after all the Turkey the day before.

Many had billed this game away at Leeds as the biggest of the season but due to the current position that the hosts found themselves in, it didn't seem as important as the previous game at home to Peterborough. Now Elland Road is never the easiest place to go and get a result, even after Leeds had suffered five straight defeats, but with a new manager on board in the shape of Simon Grayson, we knew that three points was not guarenteed and a draw could be considered a good result.

With the lack of public transport on offer on boxing day, the cost of Fox Travel was slashed for season ticket holders and so 16 coaches were lined up at the Walkers ready for the fairly short journey up to Yorkshire. What with family up in that area, if there was one game that I wanted to get the train for and have the freedom to do what I wanted, it was this one but sods law meant it would be on boxing day and leave me restricted to the coaches. For this game I was with Jodie though as other people I get the travel with normally were making their own way there.

We had some random chatter about nothing in particular and had a go at the football name game not seen since the Johnstones Paint Trophy match against Hartlepool. She proved no match though and a thumping 6-1 win, combined with the lack of bookies anywhere along the way, meant she wasn't in the best mood when we made the stop at the services.

Quick KFC, and Jodies quest for salt and we were back into the cold to get back on the coaches. NSLL was there too and cheeky photo to prove that he does exist....

Back on the journey and it seemed that the stop had hardly been worth while as before long the signs for Elland Road loomed and we were pretty much there and in good time.... although there didn't seem much to do.

The main stand is quite an impressive sight as you pull off the motorway and for the first time of the day, the nerves of what lay ahead started to kick in.

My cousin works as one of the camera men at Elland Road, and we were hoping to meet up before the game but due to the high status of this game, and the fact it was Simon Grayson's first game in charge, he wasn't able to get away so I had a bit of time on my hands outside the ground while we waited to go in.

The leeds fans looked a cheerful bunch and so pleased to see us all.....

Katy arrived not long after us and came over for a natter inbetween coughing fits and after 10 minutes of random nattering outside the main stand, we decided to head in. Met up with Stez and some of the others at the queue for the turnstiles. Angry Dad was on form again though as wherever he stood, people used that as a point to pass through us all. From the looks of things JoeyB appeared to have taken a shine to Jodie too.... as for the random goon... he was just passing by Angry Dad!

Inside the concourse, was rather bizarre as it was more of a square structure leading off to random different areas including higher and lower tiers.... this made for a very cramped space though I did bump into a few faces I knew including Dan "Big Car" Carr from the office along with Lisa and Carl. The random signs around the place made me chuckle to myself.... especially point two: "Be respectful and sporting to the visiting team and their supporters." Im assuming that this sign is throughout the stadium but can sets of supporters be "sporting" to one another?

After three attempts at finding the right entrance to our area, we made our way out in the seats with limited leg room making if fun to pass through the rows. It really wasn't an impressive place to be an away fan and I was just expecting more from what claims to be a massive club, especially when looking round at the more modern areas of the ground. The stand to our right though looked very impressive and houses the majority of the 30,000 or so Leeds fans who had come to watch Leicester. I was to make a few friends among the home supporters throughout the game....

We watched the teams warm up and was dismayed to hear that Beckford was back for this game. As one of the best strikers in this league, we knew all about him and the threat that he would cause.... just had to hope Tunchev was up for the challenge.

The travelling Leicester fans were in good voice though. 3000 of us had made the trip and the worry that the part timers ruining the atmosphere like at previous bigger crowds were soon put to rest as songs rang around the corner and area behind the goal that we'd been provided with.

As the players emerged from the tunnel, the Leeds fans found their voices... only to lose them as soon as the first ball was kicked and not regain them for the next 87 minutes. I don't know what I was expecting but I thought that the 30,000 fans there would cause some intimidation and raise the temperature.... but that was not the case.

The game started at quite an impressive pace but with very little skill on offer and it was soon clear that this game would be one that would be dominated by the midfield and there would be very few chances for either team.

The first real chance fell for Leeds after 15 minutes or so as a cross into the box was spilled by David Martin right to the feet of Becchio who struck the post with the goal at his mercy. A real let off and just showed the need that we have for a reliable keeper between the posts. Andy King had a long range effort just wide, but midway through the first half, City took the lead. Fryatt picked up the ball, shook off three defenders and threaded the ball through to Oakley who hit it sweetly first time with the outside of the foot past the stranded Ankerman. The celebrations were as joyous as ever and included the winding up of the nearby fans who seemed insistant in sticking two fingers up to us... how unsporting!

We dominated the game for the remainder of the first time without ever really testing the keeper and it was Leeds who came closest to scoring when Martin turned an effort from Richardson round the post.

At half time we headed down to the concourse and saw Lil' Dave and Andy SUAS, before exchanging texts with Katy and some people I knew in the Leeds end to see their thoughts on the game.... they wern't enjoying it for some reason.

As with the first half, City controlled the opening exchanges of the second period but without forcing the keeper into any real scares. A few corners and a free kick fired straight at the wall were all that we had to show for ourselves as the clock wore on and Leeds realised that they were still in the game.



A few meaty challenges were starting to thrown in in the midfield and yet neither side seemed to give or take an inch and the turning point soon came with five minutes to go. Fryatt took his leave to be replaced by Dickov and the chasing of the ball soon stopped... Leeds defence had no pressure for the first time and could advance with the ball rather than hoofing it skywards. This started to get the Leeds fans to wake up and they roared their team on for the final few minutes and it was only a matter of time before they got their goal.

A deep cross was swung in and Snodgrass appeared from nowhere at the back post to place the ball past Martin and give Leeds the point they so badly needed. This was their cup final in many respects and they hadn't lost.... but we took great happiness in reminding them who was top as they celebrated like it was a Champions League semi-final.... or is that a sore point?

As the final whistle blew, the players were clearly disappointed not to have taken three points but to be honest, a point apiece was fair and we left the stadium not feeling to glum about the late goal and piled onto the coaches for the journey home.



Got back to the walkers in good time, less than 2 hours of travelling through the busy motorway and was left to reflect on our position.... Top two was guarenteed now going into the new year and we'd survived what was likely to be the trickiest of games in the league this season and hadn't lost. It's a good time to be a Leicester fan.

Next up on the tour is the final game of 2008 and the visit of Hereford, a team who a few years ago were a non-league outfit who gave us a torrid time in the FA Cup when we were in the Premiership, and now here we were in a league game.... funny old game!