Occasional guest writer Martha Zantides does the double by reflecting on Leeds United verses Wycome Wanderers (after writing on Wycombe Wanderers verses Leeds United earlier in the season http://clarkeonenil.co.uk/front-page/contributions-on-the-leeds-united-quagmire/leeds-at-wycombe-%e2%80%93-thoughts-from-a-leeds-fan-of-41-years ).
Elland Road, Saturday 9th January 2010. Well five months on, we met Wycombe Wanderers again, this time at Elland Road. Last time it was August, at Adams Park and very hot. Now the other extreme, a snow covered car park and surrounding streets in the bleak winter of January 2010, temperatures just below freezing. Even by football standards, too cold and bitter.
A special mention and gratitude from a multitude of Leeds fans to the LUFC ground staff for their Trojan efforts in making sure that the game went ahead. Well done.
The thing that stands out in my memory from the away match is the warmness of the welcome from Wycombe and the very understated policing.
Who would have thought that since then, we would have played two out the so-called top four? Liverpool in the third round of the Carling Cup and Manchester United aka The Scum in the third round of the FA Cup. Whilst we were unlucky to lose to Liverpool 1 – 0 at home, we beat ‘mighty’ Man U 1-0 in their own backyard and knocked them out of the cup. One of my sweetest moments as a Leeds fan, it was payback for six years or so of relegations, administration, rubbish football, gutless players, misery, hurt, pain and bitter, bitter disappointment. It made the Hereford United’s, the Walsall’s, Carlisle’s, Bournemouth’s and the Hartlepool’s etc bearable and the dues that we have to pay to get back to where we belong. A taste of where we came from and where we are returning to.
So back down to Earth as Wycombe Wanderers came to town. We started brightly enough and a finely worked goal game after four minutes, Crowe pounced on a mid-height ball in the final third of the Wycombe end and passed quickly to Johnny Howson who rifled a low shot into the left-hand side of the goal. At this point I thought we would go on to score a handful but the delayed hangover from the Man U game kicked in and as time went on we became more and more lack lustre. Wycombe hit the woodwork twice and it became obvious, at least to me that Jon-Paul Pittman was a very dangerous player who needed close attention. Bradley Johnson had an on-target header saved just before half-time. Mr. Beckford worked a bit harder then usual but failed to convert any of his chances, it was going to be that kind of game.
On the 63rd minute, the inevitable happened when the ever dangerous Jon-Paul Pittman ran around Richard Naylor and scored from a low shot to the far corner of the goal after picking up the ball from a nifty cross-field pass. We huffed and puffed but could not blow the Wycombe house down and so completed our fourth draw of the season. An indifferent day at the office but our home league record still intact after about a year and despite Norwich beating Exeter at home, six points clear with two games in hand.
Editor says: thanks to MZ for the Leeds United v Wycombe Wanderers trilogy, may we never play them again. All guest reviews of games gratefully received.
