FA Carling Premiership Game 27: Monday 01 March 1999 Leicester City 1 - 2 Leeds United (Half-time: 0 - 1) Crowd: 18101 Referee: G P Barber (Surrey)
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Report from the rattan chair - Rob Heath

Well, actually I was not in the rattan chair this time. Since the game was @ 3.00 am, to avoid waking everybody else I had to take the tv into the corner of the living room and lie on some cushions with our recently acquired black cat (who I secretly call Hasselbaink even though my family rebelliously voted out that name in favour of "Zorro".)

Anyway, the match: my summary would be Leeds were poor, but luckily Leicester were pathetic. Leeds looked like they thought they just had to go through the motions and they'd collect the points, which indeed proved to be true, but we made hard work of it. Harry was the only player who was really up for it. We had a peculiar lineup with a flat back 4 of Haaland, wethers, Radebe & Harte, just Bowyer & Hoppy in cetntral midfield, Smith & Jimmy up front, Harry floating mostly wide left, and Korsten.............well, I barely saw him for most of the game, but it looked like he was supposed to be "in the hole".

The crisps actually started off quite brightly, and we hardly got a kick in the first 10 mins. Then suddenly Jimmy was through on the keeper, and from exactly the same spot where Arsenal had three chances v leics last week in the first half and buried all of em, Jimmy had a pretty lame shot blocked by Keller. Then on 25 mins came the first touch of class in the game, and a fine Leeds goal. Jimmy picked up possession way out on the left wing, and turned to face a defender. He made a couple of shimmies, got the ball onto his right foot and then slid a great pass in to Kewell who was cutting in front of his marker at the near post, and H finished it off with a nice shot through the keeper's legs. Shortly after that, Lucas slipped on the touchline and let Heskey in. He squared it to Cottee who pathetically failed to adjust his feet to the run of the ball and let it roll by him! But that was a let off. Then Harry was through (in exactly the same position AGAIN as Jimmy & the 3 Arse goals!) and telegraphed a left foot curled shot which Keller blocked again. Just before HT, the hitherto anonymous Korsten burst into the box onto a splndid pass from Bowyer, went past Impey who clipped his ankles and down he went. Unfortunately, he made it into a dramatic dive, and the ref "was having none of it" and so we STILL haven't had a pen since 1954.

2nd half, we were even more sluggish than the first, and they had the ball pinging about our box a bit. Martyn made a good save when it looke dlike Cottee might get onto a ricochet. Then Smith didwell to make a chance for Harry which he met with a cracking left foot drive deflected for a corner. From the corner the ball fell to Korsten who hit another cr lf ft drive, which hit Ullathorne and dropped at the feet of Smith. Since Keller was still flying across his goal trying to save the original shot, all Smith had to do was turn it into the empty net, which he did. They pulled a nice goal back after Izzet released Cottee into the box, and just before that Martyn saved well from Izzet's 25 yder. Smith had 2 more clean through chances, and hit one over and the second at the keeper. Bowyer was set up nicely by Jimmy but shot over & Wethers was also set up nicely but Smith but had his goalbound shot blocked. In the end, we hung on reasonably easily to win, and I suppose with such a weakened team it was a good result. But it is interesting that Man U & Arse have scored 6 & 5 v the crisps in recent weeks, and we scored 2 but missed at least 3 sitters. The difference between us and "them"?

Scores:
Martyn 7
Haaland 6
Wethers 6
Radebe 7
Harte 6
Bowyer 6
Hoppy 6
Korsten 5
Kewell 9
Jimmy 5.5
Smith 6

Finally.............if anyone is still there, a word or two about Smith. This is the first time I've had a chance to really watch him. He certainly looks lively & has a good touch etcx etc, and I can forgive him his 2 misses given his youth and inexperience. But his attitude is HORRIBLE. I have read fond comments about how he "seems to be a bit prickly" etc, as if it is an endearing trait of his. The fact is he is a nasty piece of work. He is abrasive, sneaky and petulant. I have also read comments from him that he knows he must sort this side of his agme out and he is trying to do so...........BOLLOCKS! If you are trying to sort it out, you don't lash out and kick someone in the chest when they fall down next to you after 5 mins of a game! He got a yellow card for that (for which he will now be suspended - again) and he was bloody lucky not to get a red later on. I think if I supported any other team, Smith & Hasselbaink would have to constitute the most hated strike partnership since Hughes & Wise.

Leeds overcome Leicester to go fourth - Daniel Taylor

Copy from Football Unlimited of 02/03/1999.

Despite his insistence to the contrary, David O'Leary's managerial requirements for the following season would seem certain to encompass the need for a passport after an accomplished victory at Filbert Street last night to cement the Yorkshire side's European aspirations.

Not for the first time O'Leary's assertion that Leeds are far removed from a top-six outfit was made to appear little more than Irish folly as their greater verve and invention was rewarded by goals from Harry Kewell and Alan Smith, countered by a late strike from the predatory Tony Cottee that gave Leicester brief, yet unfilled, hope on an absorbing night.

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