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It really is about Leeds united

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View GalleryBy Phil Hay
THE Football League 0, Leeds United 1.
It is sad to report that the scoreboard at Prenton Park did not show that scoreline after full-time on Saturday, but not sad enough to detract from a result which, momentarily, put English football in its place.

The view of Leeds from the moral high ground, for those who like standing there, will be somewhat different today.

The close season of 2007 has been open season on United, a period of unthinkable anxiety and unveiled attacks. The summer seemed endless at times, as did the disharmony, and in those circumstances it was always going to take a special afternoon to draw a line in the sand and free Leeds from their torment.

Saturday's victory over Tranmere Rovers finally provided that sublime moment of release.

The first day of the new season is traditionally a profitable time for Leeds; the club have started their last eight campaigns with a victory, and have not been beaten in their opening fixture since 1989.

But their date on the Wirral was played out in a different context, one which no number of statistics could predict or explain.

United will never start a season in more difficult circumstances than they did on Saturday; moreover, no result will ever provide more satisfaction than the narrow victory snatched by Tresor Kandol's 89th-minute header at Prenton Park.

A spectacular performance it may not have been, but a triumph in adversity it most certainly was.

The hard line take by the Football League in punishing Leeds with a 15-point deduction has created tangible resentment at Elland Road – in Dennis Wise, his players and staff, and every supporter confused by the justification of such a stringent penalty.

The League's judgement has, in effect, made this season personal, uniting Leeds against the governing body, their chairman Lord Mawhinney and every English club who worked to enforce United's punishment.

Saturday's win was an initial victory for Wise and his squad; now to win the war.

So great is the deficit in front of Leeds that the need for an electric start was beyond question, and their 2-1 victory has taken a significant chuck out of the League's penalty.

United remain 12 points adrift of the field but seven teams failed to collect a point at the weekend, and the tail-end of the division has been brought marginally closer.

This season promises to be a marathon of epic proportions, but an early sprint will not do Leeds any harm. If anything, it is the results through August and September which will shape their final position when the campaign reaches a conclusion in May.

Their defeat of Tranmere was an impressive start but, as Wise conceded afterwards, it was no more than that.

United's boss was left to reflect on a strange match at full-time, one which had seen the worst of United during the first half but witnessed the best of their fighting spirit after the interval.

The performance during the opening 45 minutes was desperate, so much so that an argument ensued in the visiting dressing room at half-time.

Leeds were trailing to a 22nd-minute goal from Chris Greenacre by then and had played themselves out of the fixture with direct tactics which bypassed their midfield and allowed Tranmere to dominate possession.

Rovers thoroughly deserved their narrow lead and could have held a greater advantage by the time referee Lee Mason called a halt to the first period.

From the outset it was clear that Tranmere had taken the field under strict instructions from their manager, Ronnie Moore, to deny the visitors any sympathy or favours.

Within five minutes, Calvin Zola grazed Casper Ankergren's side-netting with a 20-yard strike which curled beyond United's goalkeeper, and the striker nodded a free header wide three minutes later after Leeds failed to clear a corner from Paul McLaren.

United's sole response came from Kandol, who headed Alan Thompson's corner over the crossbar with Danny Coyne struggling to cover his net, but the opening goal seemed more likely to materialise at Ankergren's end.

The Dane had already averted one crisis – clearing the ball from the feet of Chris Shuker as the winger broke clear of United's defence, and then repelling a shot from Greenacre on the rebound – when his defence left him badly exposed in the 22nd minute.

Shuker collected a long pass on the left wing and whipped a delivery through the box, where Wise's backline was randomly scattered. The ball curled beyond Frazer Richardson and Greenacre ran in at the far post to side-foot home.

The goal quickly coaxed Wise from the stands to the touchline, and United's boss watched as Tranmere attempted to turn the screw.

Shuker called for a penalty in the 44th minute after Matt Heath appeared to pull on his arm, but a decision against United's defender would have been harsh.

Amid fierce protests from Moore's players, and the home crowd, Mason maintained his composure and allowed Leeds to finish the half with their chances of a result intact.

What Wise said to his players at the interval will remain a mystery, although the tone of the discussion is not. A frank exchange of views dominated the break and understandably so; the opening 45 minutes had seen United revert to several of the bad habits which hampered them last season.

But what followed in the second half was a positive indictment of Wise's motivational skills, and a display which warmed the soul of every supporter crowded into the away end.

Immediately, United began to pass the ball through midfield and take a grip on an area of the pitch which had previously been Tranmere's to own.

The supply of possession to Rovers' strikers dried up completely, and when United were awarded a free-kick on the corner of the hosts' box with 55 minutes gone, a brilliantly-executed move yielded an equaliser.

Alan Thompson positioned the set-piece and curled a cleverly-weighted delivery to the far post. Heath, who had been standing behind Tranmere's wall, peeled away from the crowd of players and sprinted to the other side of Coyne's goal, arriving with perfect timing to drive a header into the net.

The goal created a genuine contest, and both sides pushed for a winning goal during the final half-hour. Greenacre was twice denied by blocks from Manuel Rui Marques, and Ankergren stepped in to dispossess Zola on the one occasion when Tranmere's forward managed to escape his marker.

But United had energy left at the last, and forced a second goal during a magical final minute.

Andy Hughes, making his Leeds debut, collected a throw-in from Richardson and picked out Kandol with a looping cross, which the lanky marksman converted with an awkward, but decisive, header.

The much-criticised striker accepted wild applause from the travelling supporters and, after five minutes of injury time, Wise did too.

Acceptance can be difficult to find when times are hard but, in an instant, United looked as one. The death of this club has been grossly exaggerated.

I'm leeds born and bred and very proud

Josie-lufc

Brill