Leeds United 1 (Norris 37) Charlton 1 (Dervite 50).
Kevin Nolan reports from Elland Road.
The best cure for insomnia, according to that old curmudgeon W.C. Fields, is to get plenty of sleep. Stands to reason. And the best way to deal with disappointment, he might have added, is to get over it. Again, stands to reason.
It’s not known how Chris Powell slept on Saturday night after watching his side humiliated by Barnsley at The Valley. Not too well, probably, and his mood was hardly lightened by the immediate prospect of a tricky trip to Leeds, not the most pleasant of venues on his Championship agenda. But whether or not he slept between Saturday and Tuesday, his side’s battling attitude at Elland Road certainly helped him forget the bitter disappointment, not to mention disillusionment, of losing in front of a bumper crowd at the weekend. Having got over it, this result will help him nod off.
Elland Road itself reeks of past glories, though successive, unloved sides have struggled to combine success with popularity. On hand in the press facilities from Don Revie’s great 70s team were Norman Hunter and Eddie Gray, who represented the steel hand inside a silk glove that Leeds’ opponents came to recognise and fear all too well.
These days, Revie’s successor is the peripatetic Neil Warnock, all affability when he wins, a glowering whiner when he doesn’t. For Hunter, read Michael Brown, a 35-year old veteran coming to the end of a career largely spent at odds with almost everyone including himself. Gray’s magical wing skills, meanwhile, are supposedly covered by the odious El Hadji Diouf, once described by Warnock as a “sewer rat” but these days rehabilitated as bosom buddies with the gaffer. Overseeing the operation we have Ken Bates, offshore chairman (for reasons of tax, you understand) but persistent dispenser of unwanted philosophy nonetheless. Hardly in W.C. Fields’ class. It’s safe to say that none of the current crew adequately match their predecessors.
Already beset by injuries to key players this season, Powell was handed a further blow when midfield playmaker Dale Stephens withdrew shortly before kick-off with a hamstring twinge. Having lost experienced striker Ricardo Fuller during the Barnsley debacle, it seemed Stephens’ mishap was some kind of last straw. Rising boldly to the occasion, however, the beleaguered boss re-jigged his formation, handed three players full league debuts and was rewarded by a splendid team performance that deserved better than a draw
Powell’s master stroke was to deploy central defender Dorian Dervite as a defensive shield in front of his back four, where he stood out. Key interceptions, firm tackling and intelligent distribution helped the Addicks win the midfield battle. And when it mattered most, the powerfully built Frenchman also scored.
Other adjustments saw Chris Solly returned to right back, Lawrie Wilson pushed forward to replace Danny Green in right midfield, Cedric Evina somewhat belatedly trusted to solve the left back problem and willing grafter Rob Hulse making his first start up front. The effect was deeply impressive, though it didn’t prevent United taking an undeserved first half lead through a goal with a whiff of illegality about it.
Artful striker Luciano Becchio played his part, an unseen nudge on Leon Cort causing the outstanding centre back to miscue his headed clearance of Diouf’s free kick. Pouncing on the loose ball, David Norris drilled it beyond Ben Hamer’s left hand. The heroic Cort’s earlier block on Norris had preserved an equality which Johnnie Jackson might have restored immediately; the skipper drove Bradley Pritchard’s low centre wastefully wide of his target. As it turned out, the Whites led for less than a half hour, including the interval
Wilson, with Solly providing security behind him, was clearly enjoying himself further upfield. His carefully angled cutback five minutes after resumption was met on the run by Dervite, who skimmed a low 20-yard drive neatly inside the left post. It was no more than these spirited Addicks deserved.
When Hulse, wearied by his selfless running , was replaced by Bradley Wright-Phillips, the visitors came desperately close to netting all three points. Chances arrived thick and fast during a hectic last five minutes, the best of them created by Pritchard’s tireless industry for Wright-Phillips to unleash a ferocious volley which was netbound until Paddy Kenny conjured a spine twisting save. More disappointment for Powell, of course, but hopefully not enough to disturb his sleep. He needs his energy to plan next Saturdays’s daunting trip to Molineux.
Leeds: Kenny, Drury, Pearce, Lees, Green (White 64), Diouf, Brown, Norris, Byram, Varney (Tonge 64), Becchio (Gray 77). Not used: Ashdown, Kisnorbo, Pugh, Hall.
Charlton: Hamer, Solly, Cort, Morrison, Evina, Dervite, Wilson, Pritchard, Kerkar, Jackson, Hulse (Wright-Phillips 85). Not used: Button, Green, Cook, Hollands, Razak, Harriott.
Referee: N. Miller. Att: 17,484.
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