Not all plain sailing for Leeds

Mark Vickery
Aug 23, 2017 · 10 min read

Report by Mark Vickery from Elland Road

Leeds United 5 (Roofe 44, 49, 65, Saiz 78, Viera 89)

Newport County 1 (Labadie 33)

Attendance: 17,098 (approx. 650 County)

Form:

Newport County DWDW

Leeds United WWDDW

PRE-MATCH THOUGHTS
Leeds have gone with youthful line-up but have some key players on the bench so County need to start well and impose their game

CONDITIONS
Quite warm and sultry, cloudy and keen breeze. Pitch in excellent condition

SUMMING UP OUR PERFORMANCE IN ONE STATEMENT
Bold and inventive going forward without reward but got increasingly stretched and opened up.

TURNING POINT
Leeds equaliser on stroke of half time gave them a massive lift

THE MATCH
County kept the same 4–2–3–1 formation with same back four and two in front but made three attacking changes with McCoulsky and Reynolds replacing Nouble and Quigley who were name substitutes. County also had Sean Rigg back in the frame after being rested against Coventry City and he replaced Reece Cole who was on the bench. Leeds made the early running with some patient exchanges to work County around. On 3 minutes, County were given a warning when an untidy pass in midfield was Viera and he slipped quick pass into Gomes. He carried his strength run down the left side of the pitch before dragging his low shot from 25 yards wide of the right post. Leeds were keen to use their right channel at every opportunity with Dallas offering a good outlet. County kept focussed getting in some important interventions to shackle Dallas and look for holes on the break. On 10 minutes, County created an excellent counter after being forced back defending their left flank. White did well to break up play and pick out the run of Reynolds. He made a strong run to the left side of the area before slipping a great ball inside for Rigg who cut inside defender Shaugnessy with ease. From an acute position, deep inside the area, he struck a low shot which Green parried wide of the right post. County gained confidence from their snappy approach play forcing Leeds back and were close again on 13 minutes after a well- constructed move down the left flank. Demetriou did well to support the move when he overlapped left side of the area to receive a pass from Rigg his cross into the area was met well in the air by McCoulsky from 10 yards but Green read it well. Leeds continued to persist with the right flank with Dallas influential in finding good positions and set up crosses which kept White busy. Leeds were efficient in their passing and made efforts to switch play to unsettle County with Roofe and Dallas linking well together. County continued to play effectively absorbing pressure and with Reynolds they had a useful outlet which kept the Leeds defence on the hop. On 20 minutes, Reynolds did well to receive a pass from Pipe which was threaded down the right touchline. He tricked his way inside beating off a challenge from Ayling and had an opening to shoot from 14 yards but his low effort lacked venom and was cleared to safety. Ayling was key to several Leeds move in the first half which his intelligence in bringing the ball forward from defence to make up an extra man. County were forced increasingly deep as a result once Leeds got playing in the County half. On 23 minutes, Roofe was again causing problems when he drove the right byline and his low cross was hooked back by Stokes but claimed easily by Day. County responded with some quick counters and they continued to penetrate well down the left side. On 25 minutes, Willmott delivered an excellent corner from the left side which was allowed to drop and the ball sat up for Reynolds who saw his effort cleared off the line by Gomes. Labadie then directed a decent low effort from 25 yards from the left side which went into the side netting left of the goal. Ayling continued to menace forward with his runs often left unchecked and County were given another warning on 30 minutes when he stole a yard and his powerful shot from 30 yards fizzed just wide of the left post. County took a shock lead to silence Elland Road on 33 minutes when Labadie did well to prise the ball away from Klick and he struck an opportunist effort from 30 yards which Green appeared to have control over but he was unable to hold and the ball went in with the aid of the right post. Leeds stepped up their approach with some neat exchanges and Labadie was booked on 37 minutes for a lunge on Anita. With Leeds keen to push on, County were increasingly dangerous on the break and another good counter attack saw Dolan find the Reynolds down the middle. County appeared to have two on two situation and Reynolds threatened to run straight down the pitch until Gomez crudely checked his run. He was rather fortunate to escape with just a yellow card with Ayling covering as the other defender. Leeds increased the tempo of their game as half time approach and got their equaliser on 44 minutes. It came from a corner on the right side by Dallas which County should really have cleared. Despite Shaugnessy having his low effort blocked by Day, County struggled to stifle the loose ball inside the six yard and the ball sat up kindly for Roofe to poke the ball home. County immediately went on offensive with Rigg being cynically pulled back by Viera as County again threatened down the left flank in the transition from defence to attack.

The second half saw Leeds build on the approach play and the tempo they set in the early stages set a precedence for the rest of the half. Leeds took the lead on 49 minutes from a quick move on the left side which saw County stretched with Dallas beating Pipe near the edge of the area. He was allowed to much freedom to carry his run into the area and despite the cross come shot being pushed away by Day the save sat up invitingly for Roofe who thrashed his volley into the empty net from 12 yards. County remained positive despite the setback and had a great chance to equalise on 51 minutes. Labadie did well to win the ball in midfield from Viera and find a quick pass into Reynolds. He burst through the middle to expose the Leeds defence but his low effort from 25 yards flashed just wide of the left post. County made their first change on 55 minutes with Nouble replacing McCoulsky. Leeds opted to play some more direct balls to test County with Roofe playing in a more central role and his pace and alertness continued to keep the County defence busy. Leeds responded with a defensive substitution to counter the threat from Nouble on 60 minutes with established central defender Cooper replacing Anita in midfield. On 63 minutes, Roofe went close again from a good piece of individual skill on the right side of the area fending off a challenge by Demetriou and White. He elected to loft a chip from 25 yards which clipped the top of the bar with Day reeling back to cover his lines. County continued to cause problems with piercing runs down the middle and had another great chance on 62 minutes with Willmott in advanced position near the edge of the area. He had Nouble in support on the left side but elected to shoot but his low effort was well read by Green saving well low down. Leeds were comfortable in possession working the ball around seamlessly from the back and County were being forced deeper to retrieve the ball. On 65 minutes, Reynolds had dropped back to initiate a move but got caught in possession cheaply by Ayling on the right side of the area. He was quick to produce a cross into the area which Roofe anticipated superbly hitting a scissors volley low into the right corner from 12 yards. Leeds made a change on 66 minutes with Spanish wizard Siaz replacing Stokes up front. County responded to play a more direct tact with Reynolds sacrificed for Quigley up front. Leeds tightened their grip on the game dominating possession in the final twenty minutes and went close again on 70 minutes with Gomes testing County keeper Day with a crisp snapshot from 20 yards after a free kick was only half cleared. County made their final change moment later with Tozer returning to the side after a long term injury in place of Rigg. On 72 minutes, Quigley was booked for a lazy challenge on Cooper as he was about to clear the ball. County made efforts to utilise Nouble at every opportunity with him peeling off with some good runs to the left flank. On 73 minutes, Nouble saw his strong run abrupted when Klich pulled him back deep inside the Leeds half. Leeds made another change on 75 minutes with Alioski replacing Roofe and with County still asking questions Dallas booked for kicking the ball away when County wanted to get on with a free kick. Leeds finally made the game safe on 78 minutes from another sweeping move from right to left which saw Alioski do well to retrieve ahead of Pipe and his low neat cross to the edge of the area was expertly placed into the left corner by Siaz. Dolan was then booked for an untidy challenge on Gomes which appeared to be for persistent fouling. County kept plugging away and had another great opportunity on 82 minutes when Quigley chased a ball flighted down middle. Gomes showed momentary indecision allowing Quigley to prise possession and carry his run goalside. However, he somehow dragged his effort wide of the left post when he should have worked the keeper. On 85 minutes, Nouble was again left frustrated when carved out an opportunity by turning the full back inside out on the left side of the area. He addressed his shot well from an acute but it flashed just wide of the right post. Then on 86 minutes, County were unlucky when a long throw on the right side of the area by Willmott was glanced on by Demetriou inside the six yard box but cleared off the line by Shaughnessy. Leeds threatened a fifth on 89 minutes when swept forward to expose a tired looked County side with Siaz and Alioski combined to tee up Dallas only for his first time effort to be cleared near the goalline by the alert White. Leeds added a flattering fifth goal on 89 minutes from a corner on the right flank which Cooper met strongly in the air and Viera seized on the loose ball to fire home from 10 yards. County remained positive and Willmott was denied an opportunity to score when he drove down the right channel exploiting gaps in the Leeds defence buy Cooper cynically cut short his run and was booked. The flurry of booking continued to deep into injury with O’Brien catching the lively Siaz with a tackle from behind. The final whistle blew with County rueing their missed chances but the home and away supporters showed appreciation for their efforts.

Day (6) — was kept busy with shots on goal and perhaps could have done better with the first and third goals. Made some smart low down and kicked well in general.

O’Brien (6) — won his aerial duals and was generally tidy with clearing and distribution. Found runs of Alioski and Siaz difficult to track late in game.

Pipe (4) — had a decent first half and distributed well when invited, but got sucked into several challenges and caught not holding position on a couple of goals.

Demetriou (7) — did well in the air and on the floor dealing with pace was switched on to the danger in behind. Got forward well when the opportunity arose to make things happen

White (6) — put under pressure on times first half and kept his focus well to break up play and use ball effectively. Steadied himself second half when Dallas swapped sides.

Labadie (7) — put in several crunching challenges and was on top for spells first half. Showed his pedigree tonight to push and capability in and around the box with shots.

Dolan (5) — never really stamped his authority on the game with his passing. Competed well and worked hard but was left firefighting to quell moves across the face of the area.

Rigg (6) — had a decent first half, was dynamic with his effective runs especially when he angled his runs left side. Unlucky not to score and his link play was missed when he went off.

Willmott (7) — worked hard box to box, quick minded and exploited gaps well to provide crosses. With better finishing he may have had a couple of goals as reward

Reynolds (6) — had a bright first half and gave an outlet right flank with trickery and pace carrying the ball. Needs to improve on his shooting inside the area and decision making.

McCoulsky (4) — a lot of running in final third but struggled to threaten. Was bowled off ball far too easily and needs to become a bit more tenacious off the ball and rush defenders

SWOT ANALYSIS OPPONENTS
Strengths — very composed switched on side, they were happy to play from the back and switch play left to right and back. Wide play was clever and their finish was clinical

Weaknesses — they did leave a lot of space down the middle and better sides would have punished them inside the area when they left two on two.

Opportunities — offered more tempo after half time. Dallas threat increased switching from right to left side. Roofe roamed and played more effective when he went into the middle.
Threats — Roofe was flexible had an eye for goal, Dallas penetrated either side of the area. Siaz and Alioski showed a good understanding late on, skilful and quick minded

OFFICIALS
R Joyce (7) — got the key decisions right and kept game flowing but got a little frustrated with the number of bookings issued

MAN OF THE MATCH
Kemar Roofe — has played league two and showed his experience taking up positions County found hard to track. Took his chances very well

IF YOU WERE MICHAEL FLYNN WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

County have received a lot of praise for their approach to the game and rightly so as the score was somewhat flattering to Leeds despite them winning game comfortably in the end. County had a number of decent opportunities in this match but the most costly misses were when they may have levelled just after half time. County timed their runs well, were enterprising, cohesive and penetrative going forward but will need to sharpen on their finishing as they cannot rely on goalkeeper lapses. On times Leeds were allowed too much space to bring in an extra player from deep with central defender Ayling exploiting gaps and before you know County were forced back in their own half defending deeply. County will get back to the bread and butter next home against Chesterfield but it will be important to up their work ethic off the ball and get more from the front pair to unsettle defenders into mistakes. Chesterfield have had vulnerabilities at the back and are side that can worked about the pitch so key County play to their strengths and take their opportunities.

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Mark Vickery

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