We are all former students at Lakenheath High School and other public schools in East Anglia. We were in school in the 70s and 80s and drank deeply from the well of British culture of those decades - the pints, the telly, and of course the footie!
The mighty Leeds boys take to the hallowed pitch at Elland Road a goal down to Millwall from the first leg but knowing that a two goal difference will be enough to secure a place in a Wembley playoff final against either Scunthorpe or MK Dons.
posted by The Blue Devil @ 2:29 PM
We are all former students at Lakenheath High School and other public schools in East Anglia. We were in school in the 70s and 80s and drank deeply from the well of British culture of those decades - the pints, the telly, and of course the footie!
142 Comments:
The teams for today:
Leeds: Ankergren, Douglas, Sodje, Naylor, Parker, Delph, Snodgrass, Howson, Kilkenny, Beckford, Becchio. Subs: Lucas, Marques, Grella, Johnson, Robinson.
Millwall: Forde, Dunne, Whitbread, Craig, Frampton, Henry, Abdou, Bolder, Martin, Alexander, Harris. Subs: Pidgeley, Robinson, Grabban, Barron, Laird.
It's a sell-out crowd of 37,000 crammed into Elland Road tonight. And it would've been even more without the FA's decision to keep the away support to 1,000.
Great stream up through VSS.
Jermaine Beckford scored twice against Millwall at Elland Road earlier in the season. Let's have another brace, mate!
Kick-off!
Tremendous atmosphere at Elland Road tonight.
Go on!
Let's have an early goal to settle the nerves, lads.
A bit of argybargy already. Becchio was hacked there by Boulder and the Leeds boys didn't like it much at all.
Yellow card for the Millwall man.
First corner for us swung in and cleared out.
Good early pressure for us. It's predictable that we're having a go at them. Millwall just trying to see off the opening onslaught.
Millwall having trouble just getting out of their own half.
Beckford's got two men (and sometimes three) hanging on him at every turn. That should open some room for Snoddy and Becchio.
Come on. Keep it on the floor, lads.
Great run from Becchio. He spread it wide to Delph who fed a lovely cross in but Beckford just couldn't connect with the flying header.
Oh, Beckford had acres of space there, but he dithered on it and was tackled. Howson came in strongly on the Millwall defender and will probably get a ticking off.
The ref's pulled over the two captains to have a word with them about the nature of the tackles going in.
Another good period of pressure here. We need the opening before it gets too late in the half. A goal would completely change the complexion of the match.
Oh, that should have been a penalty. The cross came over the big Sam Sodje was wrestled to the ground. Come on, ref - open your eyes!
Oh, Snoddy cut in from the right and had a go there but didn't get enough mustard behind it to get past the keeper.
Fifteen minutes in and still deadlocked at 0-0. We need a goal.
Corner to Millwall...
Sodje is having a hell of a match so far. I hope we can hang onto him for next season rather than his going back to Reading.
Something happened off the ball there. Rugby tackle by Martin. He's going into Mark Hallsey's book too.
Half way through the first half and I'm still on pins and needles.
Ah, Beckford was through there for the first time. Great movement and he hit it first time. The keeper parried it out to Delph who just lost his footing as he shot.
Oh, someone stamped on Delph there. And there's another big ruck that Hallsey has to sort out.
Somehow Delph was booked there, probably for something said.
Ankergren did well to get down and hold onto that shot. First real threat from Millwall.
Oh dear, it looks as if Neil Kilkenny is in some trouble here. He may have to come off. The trainer is out with the magic sponge.
It's got very ping pongy all of a sudden. Our early burst seems to have dissipated. We need a goal to get the momentum back.
Another great run from Snoddy, this time on the left. It opened up for a shot but he hit it straight at Ford.
Good free kick opportunity now...
Sodje gone up for this...
Lofted in and it comes to nothing.
The camera lingers for a moment on that old tax scofflaw Captain Birdseye himself up in the stands.
Snoddy is all over the pitch tonight, even tracking back to help out Douglas.
Now he's given up a corner for Millwall...
Whistled for a foul.
Kilkenny's down injured again and this time he won't be able to continue for sure.
Andy Robinson to replace Kilkenny. A good trade there. Perhaps a bit more creative than Kilkenny but it'll require a re-shuffle.
We've been knocking on the door and asking some questions of Millwall but no results so far. Coming up on the final five minutes of the half.
Just checking in
I am off!
Fingers crossed
Oh, Alexander caught Ankergren late in the challenge there. But somehow the great Dane has come off the better.
Cheers, mate! We'll need all the luck we can get!
Snoddy with a great cross in and Becchio did well to get anything on that. It's a corner....
Comes to nothing.
Four minutes of stoppage time to come now...
Another big penalty shout from Becchio. Referee waves it off.
Robinson was tackled by the ref, there! And Mark Hallsey and then Bolder dives in again. He might be off! No, the ref's been lenient.
The Snodgrass free kick is knocked out for a corner. We're ending the half well here...
The crowd's a bit impatient here. They want Leeds to get on with it.
Becchio goes down and it's a great position for a free kick. Come on!
Oh, Robinson tried to dink it over the wall but it was miles over the bar.
Half-time: I'm really nervous now. 0-0.
A bit more argybargy on the way into the tunnel now. Ankergren's still having a go at Alexander.
Sorry for being late to this. Looks like you've had opportunities with little product.
Are you Gooners in disguise? Are you Go-oo-ners in disguise?
Good luck in the second half Bob.
A ruck in the tunnel? You are turning into Arsenal.
The teams are back out and the second half has kicked off.
Come on Leeds!
Cheers, Gooner! I'm hanging on the edge of me seat here.
Robinson over another free kick here...
Ooh, it went straight through and whistled by the backpost.
From the corner, Sodje went down again...
YESSS! Hallsey has given a penalty! I don't know quite what happened but I don't care. We've got a chance here!
And the feed has gone dead at the worst possible time!!!!!
I'm back just in time to watch Beckford miss the penalty!!!!!
Oh dear. The keeper went early but they all do. It's saved.
Keep it going, lads. We've got the momentum now. Keep it going!
GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Becchioooooooooooooooo!
1-0!
Snoddy made a great run, stuck it through for Parker overlapping and he put across a brilliant cross for Becchio to knock home. Becchio deserves a lot of credit there. He made a brilliant run.
Becchio's onto another long ball. Grayson's definitely got us up for this second half. Great response.
You Argie beauty!!!
Alright. That's one, fill your boots now.
1-1 on aggregate now but what response can Millwall have now. Their whole game plan was to frustrate. That's out the window now. They'll have to commit more forward.
Nineteen goals for Becchio this season now. 34 for Beckford. Brilliant partnership.
That's what you're hoping for. That might give Beckford more space to do what he does.
Cheers, Gooner. Becchio's definitely a bit floppy for my taste, but that's his Argentine roots. They learn those "skills" in the crib, don't they?
Yeah, definitely. Another goal for us would definitely open things up. My only fear is that Delph is getting close to a red.
And it's early doors. That Bolder guy could pick up the second yellow easily.
The ref seems to be concerned that someone's lobbed a coin out at David Forde. What idiots!
Snoddy to pump another free kick in and there seems to be a bad injury here for one of the Millwall lads. Bad head injury.
I can't tell who the player is but he seems to be knocked out cold. Not good.
It looks as if the keeper David Forde kneed his own player in the head there. Nasty!
Absolutely. Becchio reminds me of some of the South Americans that have shown up in the MLS.
Did you read that about how a couple of Mexican teams were looking to play their matches in MLS stadia until the H1N1 scare is over? And how it might signal the move to incorporate a second tier of Mexican clubs into the MLS proper? Blimey!
The Millwall lad is on his feet thankfully and Becchio does the sporting thing giving him a pat on the back. He does look a wee bit groggy.
That would be a tasty little earner for those MLS teams who own their stadia like the Galaxy, Dynamo and such.
Our sensitive souls in the Barra Brava have been chanting "Bring outcheer dead!" in this situation.
Looks as if Millwall are preparing a forward to replace their center back who's gone off. Interesting choice.
Nice Python reference, that.
After a long break, we're finally back on the attack.
Corner to us as Neil Harris goes off to be replaced by Grabban.
We haven't had enough joy from the set pieces today for my taste.
True, it would put coin in pocket. But frankly, I'm more interested in the idea of playing the likes of Leon, Atlas, Monterrey, Santos in a league setting. That would be bound to improve standards.
Twenty five minutes left here. It's still on a knife's edge. That injury took the wind out of our sails a bit.
That would be great but isn't that the scheme behind the CONCACAF Champions League?
Oh, the through ball hit Beckford on the heel there. You'd have thought that he could have a peek over his shoulder for that one. He hasn't had the best match tonight.
Great stuff from Delph, speading wide to Snoddy. His shot in was deflected by Beckford well over. That's the sort of flick that Tevez scored with last night.
That's too big a jump in class. It's always one of Guadelajara, America, Necaxa, or PUMAS that wins in Mexico. This idea is to cleave off the lesser clubs for the MLS and create a Mexican premiership, with the idea of relegation into the MLS and promotion into the Mexican Premiera. Workable? Maybe not, but very interesting.
Beckford was onto a long ball out from Becchio but he just ran out of ideas as he beared down on goal.
I'd like to see that certainly, with some of the A League sides like Rochester Rhinos into the mix.
Bugger!!!!!!
Millwall have scored in hte 73rd minute.
Douglas was poor there. The cross should never have gone over. Never.
Seventeen minutes to go to rescue this one in front of a roaring crowd. Come on, you Whites!
Just not the Wilmington Hammerheads. They're really bad.
I think all 4 of the Nocito lads could walk into the first team. Hell, stick a fake moustache on Kath and she'd be in with a chance.
Robinson goes into the book for some kind of retaliation there.
The Leeds faithful look shellshocked here. Come on. Keep up the faith lads.
Bradley Johnson coming on to add a bit of oomph up front.
No away goals rule in these playoffs though, so a goal back will get us into extra time.
Time running out for us now. Just over ten minutes to go.
It's gone eerily quiet now in Elland Road. You can actually here the 1,000 or so Millwall fans now.
No away goal implication?
Go on then. C'mon, it's Leeds time. There is nothing left of this season to hope for except this recovery. GET IN THERE SON.
There seems to be no real urgency on the part of the Leeds boys right now, especially Ankergren.
No away goal implication. We just need a goal right now and some momentum back.
That Snoddy cross got the crowd going again. Come on!
Oh, the keeper's dropped it! But the whistle went nonetheless. My heart nearly stopped there.
I'm kicking every bloody ball now.
Nearly a disaster there from the Leeds backline. But Martin couldn't take advantage. That would have been curtains.
Clash of heads there for Beckford. He's in pain for sure.
No doubt. C'MON!!!
Should be loads of added time given that serious injury worry in the second half.
Becchio wins a corner. Sodje is playing in the center forward channel now. All hands up front!
The corner was far too shallow but we've won it back.
One way traffic into the Millwall box now.
Whatever happens, I hope your boys go over to the "trouble" end and clap the crowd. It'll deflect the really high emotion that could be problematic. You don't want any crowd issues.
Another corner...
I nearly headed that one in through the computer screen. But alas...
Ankergren to launch another ball into Millwall's box. We're just pumping long balls in now. Fairly agricultural stuff to be fair.
C'mon you whites!!! Scoal a goar!
Superb effort from Brad Johnson and it's just wide of the post.
Cheers, West Ham!
And now Snoddy with a decent strike but always going high over the bar.
The goalscorer Jimmy Abdou is booked for something.
If there's any justice, we'll get another ten minutes of stoppage time.
No, it's only six minutes. Still....
And another yellow card here for Tony Craig.
The American boy Mike Grella is preparing to come on.
Douglas to wing a long throw in as Grella to come on.
Douglas was shouting for a handball there. But nothing...
About three minutes left. We'll need a miracle now.
We're leaving it very very late here.
Millwall bench hanging onto the ball there.
Another minute has ticked by. About two minutes to play more or less.
COME ON, YOU WHITES!
Nearly let a Millwall lad in there for a second goal.
Oh dear, Beckford's pushing the Millwall lad around. It was a bad challenge but you can't raise your hands to another player.
Both players booked there.
Time is up but Mark Hallsey is adding some on. Ankergren is up from the back for this free kick!
Corner now...
the whistle is blown for something. I think one goalkeeper pushed another there. Ankergren into the book.
That's it. Our season is over. The players are devastated, particularly Jermaine Beckford who's on his back in anguish. In reflection, Beckford scored 34 this season but he picked a poor time for a goal drought. We'll be playing Norwich, Southhampton and Charlton next season in Division 1.
Bob . . . I'm looking for you to post a YESS!!!! right now . . .
Alas, too late, sorry Bob . . .
Just got home
I am so sorry Bob!
Sorry Bob. Gutted for you.
Thanks for all the well wishes, lads. I'm afraid we're a cursed lot when it comes to these playoffs and knock-out competitions. We'll need to shoot for those first two automatic spots next season.
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