SkyBet EFL Championship - Play Off Semi Final 1st Leg
at Pride Park
Derby County (0) 0
Leeds United (0) 1
Kemar Roofe55
Attendance: 31,723 (inc. 2,800 away fans)
Point & hope photo gallery: click HERE
Derby County:
Roos, Tomori, Keogh, Wilson, Mount, Lawrence (Huddlestone 86), Johnson, Holmes (Bennett 70), Nugent (Marriott 64), Bogle, Malone.
Unused subs - Carson, Jozefzoon, Evans, MacDonald.
Leeds United:
Casilla, Ayling, Cooper, Berardi, Dallas, Phillips, Forshaw (Shackleton 24), Klich, Hernandez, Harrison, Roofe (Clarke 81).
Unused subs - Peacock-Farrell, Brown, Struijk, Gotts, Bogusz.
The second leg of this semi final, will take place at Elland Road on Wednesday night.
I got hold of a ticket for that game this evening, from a Derby fan who said she is unable to get to Leeds... or who more likely doesn't fancy the Rams chances in light of today's outcome.
But hey! As convincing as Leeds win was at Pride Park, it's effectively still only half time and there's only a solitary goal separating these two sides.
The second leg of that game will take place at the Hawthorns on Tuesday night.
Derby finished their scheduled league fixtures nine points behind this evenings opponents, but more importantly for them, they also had a single point more than Middlesbrough, and subsequently claimed the last play off berth by the skin of their teeth.
Six of those nine points were gained against Frank Lampard's Rams, when Leeds beat them in both previous Championship games between these two sides this term; recording a 1-4 victory at Pride Park back in August, and a 2-0 win on home turf at Elland Road in January, a game that saw Leeds open up a five point lead at the top of the table, that was, of course, embroiled in the saga that became known as 'Spygate', and led to 'the Peacocks' being fined £200,000 after their manager Marcelo Bielsa admitted to sending one of his aides to watch a Derby County training session during the run up to the game.
While not wanting to look like I'm taking sides or 'owt, because I'm most definitely not doing, it seems to me that certain people are treated differently to others when it comes to football's governing bodies., and I'm certain that you wouldn't find a single Leeds fan who'd disagree with those sentiments.
That said, on the strength of listening to some of the visiting supporters, who were on the same train home as me, you'd be hard pushed to find many Leeds fans who are currently allowing themselves to be anything more than very cautiously optimistic about the second leg, given the by now, almost traditional annual event, that sees their team blazing a trail towards the promised land, before falling at the final hurdle... again.
Kinnel! Don't beat about the bush missus!
Though I wouldn't condone any of their transgressions, other clubs break various rules too and the punishment metered out to a good few of them, is disproportionate to the level of 'wrist-slapping' that the Elland Road based club receive, on quite a regular basis. Bielsa's side went into the play offs, minus one Patrick Bamford, who was serving two match ban after being found guilty of simulation during their recent draw with Aston Villa. Imagine that! Getting banned for play acting in a game that Jack Grealish was also taking part in, and displaying all of his his usual traits.
Bamford's despicable actions wholly warranted being sanctioned of course; but he wasn't the only blatant cheat on the field of play that particular afternoon. Just saying.
Those last four games, included a reversal at bottom club (and already relegated) Ipswich Town at the weekend, that must've breached the déjà vu limit on the scale of inevitability, while Derby had finished their campaign with a six game unbeaten run, that reached it's grand finale on Sunday, when they beat fellow play off qualifiers West Bromwich Albion 3-1, to secure their place in tonight's semi final first leg.
As for today's game... well, in my humble opinion, an away win was entirely the right result, and though Frank Lampard, the Rams manager, seemed to want to blame the match officials for his own side's shortcomings; in the event, the fact that his team didn't even muster a single shot on target between them for the entire ninety (plus four) minutes, was actually a very massive contributing factor, that led towards Derby's downfall, and paints a more accurate reflection of the game, than a post-match gambit by a losing manager, in the immediate aftermath of defeat. And, to be fair to Leeds, they contained their hosts very well, and stopped the Rams playing how they wanted to, for large parts of the game, which in no small way added to the woes and frustrations of the Pride Park faithful.
I'm not sure if Mr Lampard has a plan B, but if he has, then it would appear that he must be saving it for the second leg.
Harry Wilson showed some good skill (with or without Derby, he looks destined to be a Premier League player), to create a chance for David Nugent, but Gaetano Berardi moved in quickly to make a blocking challwenge... and the chance went begging.
Having withstood some early pressure, the visitors began to get a foothold in the game, and Mateusz Klich wasn't far away from opening when he nudge the ball wide from a corner, while Stuart Dallas was unlucky to see his long range free kick, curl just past the top corner of the Rams goal.
Adam Forshaw limped out of the game in the twenty third minute, and was replaced by Jamie Shackleton, but the substitutes inclusion was a seamless one, that didn't alter Leeds shape, or approach at all.
Derby found a chink in Leeds armour and Wilson was then played through into the visitors area, where he went one against one Kiko Casilla, but the former Real Madrid keeper had the presence of mind to stay on his feet until the last possible moment and pulled off a great save.
The visitors made an encouraging to the second half, with Jack Harrison getting onto the end of a delivery from Klich, but Jayden Bogle got in the way and made a timely block.
Ten minutes after the restart, Leeds were ahead... and it had been coming, when Roofe, tearing into the Derby area through the right channel, met a pinpoint delivery from Jack Harrison and thumped the ball past Kelle Roos.
And within a minute, Roos had to make two important saves from Roofe in quick succession, as Leeds threatened to take over.
Shackleton broke quickly on the right flank swung a low delivery into the Derby area, but Pablo Hernandez stabbed the ball wide.
Cooper had a penalty appeal turned down at one end, but a short while later, Derby thought that they had been thrown a lifeline, when the referee blew up and pointed to the spot after Bogle went to ground in the Leeds area under the close attention of Harrison.
An assistant's flag summoned the attention of the referee, and following a touchline consultation and deliberation, the penalty award was overturned.
A quick look at the incident straight after the game, on my phone (isn't technology brilliant!?), confirmed that it wasn't a penalty and the decision to amend the original error was justified.
When I got back to the station, a Leeds fan who hadn't made it to the ground, but who'd watched the game in the pub, confirmed that several TV replays had proved beyond any reasonable doubt that it clearly wasn't a penalty. This guy was almost seven feet tall and had hands the size of shovels... which qualified him to be 100% correct about everything and anything, and I didn't see anybody contradicting what he said either.
Roos kept Leeds advantage down to a single goal, with a worldly of a save from Harrison late in the game, while Derby scrambled away Luke Ayling's dangerous ball into their six yard box, right at the death.
FT; Derby County 0 v Leeds United 1
While everyone was trying to remain tight lipped and avoid making eye contact with them, one bright spark piped up: "If you three are really the Police... which one of you is fucking Sting!?"
Even though there were a few Derby fans on board, there was no unpleasantness between the rival factions, but even so, I was glad that I was getting off at the first available stop, before I choked to death on the stench of beer trumps.
