This was a good result considering the circumstances....

Jason Wilcox, Harry Kewell, Stephen McPhail, Jonathon Woodgate and Matthew Jones were all out. Those 5 first team players out including 3 midfielders.
(not including long term absentee Batty)

And then in the game Dacourt and Bakke are sent off.....theres another 2 midfielders gone for the second leg!

Ahhhhh!!!!!!

Even O'Leary is very very very worried...

""I don't mean this as a joke, but I don't know what side I can field for that game.

"I don't know whether I've got seven players for the bench given that I've now two more midfielders out to add to the list of long-term injuries."

"The only fit midfield player I will have for the game is Lee Bowyer because I really don't see anybody making a comeback from injury in time."

"I'm not very confident about going through. I'm not being defeatist, I'm just being realistic, but it's no way to be going into the biggest game this club has had without nine players."

The ref was a joke!!!!

Harte dived, dacourt didn't (having now seen a replay, Dacourt did dive and deserved to be booked for it, but his first booking was wrong. I have also now seen a replay of Harte's dive, he fell rather than dived, but then stayed down to make the most of it), I didn't know what bakke was booked for either time until I read about it on sky sports match report http://www.soccergaming.com/ubb/confused.gif. From where I was stood he did nothing either time. I thought the first booking was for repeated foul play as he was being penalised for virtually nothing all game until that booking. If anone should have been sent off it was smith, he was his usual, violent self the style that has made him popular at Elland Road http://www.soccergaming.com/ubb/smile.gif.

Our away midfield should be fun, it will consist of Bowyer and... and.... and... erm... Bowyer. We will have to play 5-1-4 or something.

I have also read that the "penalty" was outside the box, although I had a poor view of that and thought it was inside (I have also now seen a replay of this and I still don't know whether it was in or out, i would say in, but only just). I will wait to see a replay before I commit myself to saying it was a clear penalty.

I was impressed with the 2 new boys, Viduka and Dacourt (until he was sent off) and Smith is back, he has put last season behind him, he is now fully fit for the first time in a year and he looked good. Kelly was about our worst player, he did a few good things but he had a lot of good crossing chances where he just cut inside to try and beat his man again and lost out most times.

And why couldn't Harte have scored the first goal??????????? I had £5 at 45-1 on Harte to score first and the score to be 2-1!!!!!!!

(Additions are in brackets)

[This message has been edited by Phil the Leeds fan (edited 08-10-2000).]

The referee was watching a different game - some of the decisions he made were hopeless. And Aelic got a straight red card cos Harte dived!
And they said referees are crap in the Premiership...

It certainly ruined the game and makes it very difficult for Leeds in the 2nd leg