What The Locals Say.........

Last updated : 20 October 2003 By Kevin Markey
Next up is the Yorkshire Post, they write;

A sense of inevitability hung in the Elland Road air as Roy Keane rose to head the late winner in this oddly restrained Roses clash.

For 82 minutes these two old foes of English football had jousted without either truly threatening to break the deadlock before the Manchester United captain, so loved by his own and yet despised by most others, sealed victory.

For Leeds supporters it was a painful finale they have grown to accept when facing their bitter cross-Pennines rivals.

They have only won four games against the reds of Manchester since the Premiership was launched in 1993 and this defeat means they have now been victorious in only one of the last 12 encounters.

Few had given Peter Reid's men much hope of bringing such a dismal run to an end. Memories of last season's Harry Kewell-inspired success served only to increase hope rather than expectation.

Indeed, the longer the game went on, the more nervous the tension became within a stadium which was full to capacity for the first time this season.

Leeds, defending with a dogged determination, looked relatively comfortable even though Manchester United dominated long periods of possession.

The visitors, however, never really seemed to reach top gear and their failure to create any clear-cut chances was just as much to do with their poor final ball as it was down to the solid Leeds back four.

Reid will be delighted he has finally discovered a defensive unit in which he can trust. Salomon Olembe is undoubtedly the key to the new line-up as he takes on the troublesome left-back role and allows the influential figure of captain Dominic Matteo to play in the centre alongside the steadily improving Zoumana Camara.

Gary Kelly completes the set on the right.

Camara was particularly impressive on Saturday. Twice he made crucial blocks to deny Manchester United goalscoring opportunities and on numerous occasions he found himself in the right place at the right time to break down the visitors' advances.

It was cruel on the defence that they should finish on the losing side. Such could also be said for the likes of David Batty and Alan Smith who worked hard all afternoon - clearly understanding the importance of this fixture to supporters - and deserved better.

Batty has truly returned to his very best. His presence in the Leeds side is not only a defiant two-fingered salute to the likes of David O'Leary and Terry Venables who dumped him on the football scrapheap but it could also prove vital in Reid's bid to improve the fortunes of this fast fading Premiership giant.

His experience, knowledge of the game, and ability to either pick up the pace or slow down proceedings - depending upon what is required - will be invaluable.
As predicted his role on Saturday was a mirror-image of that of Keane.

The two old war-horses sitting back in front of their defences, getting in tackles, winning balls and starting up attacks.

Keane, however, has always had that added ability within his armory to get forward and score goals. The fact it was he who broke the deadlock was rather fitting for the visitors who had been driven by their captain all afternoon.

True goalscoring chances had been at a premium. Christiano Ronaldo, the tricky yet still not settled winger, had been bundled over for what looked like a decent shout for an early penalty and Keane himself had drove a fierce strike straight at Paul Robinson in the Leeds goal.

Ronaldo saw a dipping effort clip the top of the Leeds bar in the second half and Paul Scholes flashed one chance high over the bar but neither side seemed to have their shooting boots on in a game which was so tightly packed into the midfield that few chances were offered.

Leeds failed to test American Tim Howard once during the entire 90 minutes and the longer the game went on at 0-0 the sense of foreboding grew among the home supporters.

Too many times before have they seen their most bitter of enemies come through with a decisive strike through the heart in the closing stages. Keane provided it on cue.

Leeds substitute Lamine Sakho, one of Reid's summer loan signings who seems to have lost that early show of promise, dallied on the ball too long enabling Ruud van Nistelrooy to rob him and feed Gary Neville.

The England right-back swung over a delightfully curling cross which caught the Leeds defence cold for once and found the powerful forehead of the leaping Keane.

Manchester United may have had their thoughts on this week's Champions League Battle of Britain with Rangers but their delight at winning this game without shifting out of second gear was clear.

For Leeds and Peter Reid it was the worst possible start to a difficult period of fixtures. Defeat, no matter how it was packaged, leaves them with two wins from nine games with a goal difference of 18 against and only eight for.

A trip to Liverpool is up next while Manchester United in the Carling Cup and then Arsenal complete the daunting run. It is difficult to ignore that feeling of inevitability.

Leeds United: Robinson; Kelly, Camara, Matteo, Olembe; Pennant (Lennon 86), Batty, Johnson, Milner (Sakho 63); Smith, Viduka (Bridges 68).

Manchester United: Howard; G Neville, Ferdinand, Silvestre, Fortune (O'Shea 40); Fletcher (Forlan 60), Keane, P Neville, Ronaldo (Butt 89); Scoles; Van Nistelrooy.

Referee: G Poll (Hertfordshire).

Leeds man of the match: David Batty.