The Times, Sunday Times and Telegraph now seem to require registration to view articles on their sites, with the Times and Sunday Times charging readers outside the UK. The Times/Sunday Times has also moved some of the older articles into an archive which requires separate registration and requires you to pay to access the content. The Independent now charges for access to articles more than a week old. Short review of last nights action - Martyn BrownPre-game traffic stall on M62. Travel 9 miles in 1.5hrs. In the rain. Not good. Get there before kick off, which is a suprise. No pie. No pint. Me not happy bunny. Watch Leeds look a class above Tranmere first half, scoring two and wasting shed-loads of other chances, should have been over at half-time and we thought it was. Watch Tranmere change the game, close it down and remove the concept of passing from our play. Watch bizzarre linesman decisions, Tranmere players waste time drying the ball with towels (all game) and our lads cave in, especially when Forrest went off. Watch in horror as the extra time we could ill afford came around, watch us dominate, with Lucas safe at the back, only for them to sneak down the pitch and knick a deflected goal in the last seconds. Offski. But we had a laugh and am pleased we're out of it. Scores; Tranmere report: Be very afraid - Si CSo, there we were in the quaintly named Cowshed Stand discussing the fact that watching a Nationwide type "referee" a game (I'd been warned about this nutter pre-match) made us realise just how well we were off with the Premiership list....and now I find this bloke now IS a Premiership ref. Oh.....my....God. Mind you, his lino with the yellow flag made him look positively sane. "Offside!" Anyway, we were mildly decent for the first half, pretty appalling for the rest of it, and frankly it might not be such a bad thing to save ourselves any more games in this competition. <anorak>And I clocked up a new ground</anorak>. And Spurs lost at home to Brum. Ho Ho. 0-1 25 mins Viduka lofts it into the box, Tranmere look
uninterested, Forrest puts it in. Cue rubbish "Huckerby/Darren"
song. Robbo 7 didn't do much wrong Subs Hackworth 5 Bit unfair as he got no service. One chance
fell to his left foot. He hasn't got one. Ref A Styles 1 Appalling. Made the Munich 1860 ref look like
Dermot Gallagher. Ground - Made from Lego. Bizarrely modelled on Filbert Street (one side 300 ft high, the other 30). Vicky called it "sweet". Crowd - Vaguely uninterested until ref and lino got them going. Mexican waves when we won throw-ins by the end. Well, at least it saves us losing to Leicester. Parkinson lays down the law - Ian WhittellCopy from Football Unlimited of
01/11/2000.
If David O'Leary was glad to see the back of a competition which is becoming more of a hindrance than a help to clubs of Leeds United's ambition, he was not showing it. Angry that his team, already stretched by injuries and jaded by their Champions League exertions, had brought upon themselves an ultimately fruitless period of extra-time, he called their performance "a disgrace". With judgment day in Milan only a week away, and the small matter of a summit meeting with Liverpool in the meantime, Leeds needed this like a hole in the head. Though elimination from the Worthington Cup will be of little concern in the long run, the physical demands of the extra period, which could have been avoided, may well be. Parkinson pounces to deny Tranmere - Tim RichCopy from The Independent of 31/10/2000.
Not even the San Siro, where Leeds go next week, will be tougher than Prenton Park which echoed to the sound of a magnificent Tranmere victory. With 11 unfit players and games against Liverpool and Milan to come, the last thing David O'Leary needed last night was to squander a two-goal lead and lose a Worthington Cup tie in extra time. As they proved last season when reaching the final – scoring 16 times at home and conceding one goal – Tranmere are difficult opponents in this competition and they will now face either Leicester or Crystal Palace in the next round. Their recovery was started and finished off by Andy Parkinson, whose speculative 30-yard shot canoned past Paul Robinson in the 119th minute. Tranmere manager John Aldridge is rumoured to be considering his position after failing to secure what he sees as adequate transfer funds but his two substitutions, one enforced the other inspirational, turned this game. Compensation for the loss of Des Hamilton, who limped off with an ankle injury, arrived in the hulking shape of Wayne Allison, whose header made the equaliser 15 minutes from time. Gary Kelly stopped it on the line but could not prevent Steve Yates bundling the ball into the net. Parkinson had been on the field for less than 40 seconds when, standing on the edge of the area, he met a half-clearance with a sweet shot that flew past Robinson. The game was 50 minutes old and suddenly alive. The first half had been a different matter entirely, dominated by Darren Huckerby, who scored twice. His goals were fashioned from a centre-forward's old-fashioned virtues of speed and strength. The first, in the 25th minute, saw him barge his way past three challenges before turning and belting the ball past Joe Murphy. The second was even more emphatic as he cut in from the left and crashed his drive into the corner of the net. Leeds might have scored more. The bar denied Erik Bakke who unleashed a venomous shot against it from 30 yards, and the rebound then struck the prostrate Murphy on the back and might easily have gone over the line. As early as the third minute Gareth Roberts turned away Mark Viduka's header on the line. The report used to be available online here. Yates hits back to rock Leeds - Paul JoyceCopy from SportLive of 01/11/2000.
SportLive is no longer operational. Should it return to the web, this report will be removed and the link restored. Steve Yates stunned Leeds with a 76th-minute equaliser after Darren Huckerby looked to have wrecked Tranmere hopes with a double strike at Prenton Park. Tranmere substitute Andy Parkinson had put them back in the match when he scored with his first touch in the 51st minute. Twice Scott Taylor contrived to somehow fire high and wide from close range inside the opening 15 minutes as the Leeds' defence was sliced open with comparative ease. Then Stuart Barlow missed his kick when well placed. Huckerby's first came on 25 minutes when he chested down Mark Viduka's cross to fire home. Eirik Bakke sent a 30-yard shot against the bar before Huckerby doubled the advantage, accepting a short corner from Jacob Burns to blaze a right-foot shot into the bottom corner. But back came Tranmere through Parkinson, then Yates seized on the lose ball after a shot had been cleared off the line. The report used to be available online here. United tricked - and it's no treat - Phil RostronCopy from Yorkshire Evening
Post of 01/11/2000.
TRICKS and treats were in plentiful supply as a mischievous Tranmere, last season's beaten finalists, subjected Leeds to a Worthington Cup nightmare at Prenton Park. Their tormentor-in-chief was mountainous defender Dave Challinor, whose barrage of trademark monumental throw-ins landed relentlessly and unerringly like a clutch of grenades, invoking constant terror right in the danger zone. United's ghoul had some help along the way. Little gaps mysteriously appeared in the advertising hoardings so that he might enjoy a long run-up to the launch of his explosives, and what had been a greasy ball was dutifully wiped clean by towel-bearing ballboys before it was handed over. All, presumably, quite legitimate, though thoughts of illegitimacy must have occupied a few Leeds minds. This was a shocker for Leeds, lobbing along nicely in a 2-0 goal lead by half time thanks to a brace from Darren Huckerby, who grasped with both hands the opportunity presented when manager David O'Leary opted to rest leading scorer Alan Smith. He came knocking twice in the space of ten minutes with excellent goals which might have dimmed lesser spirits, but not for nothing are the Merseysiders known for their cup exploits and if Leeds thought they had done enough then they were sadly mistaken. Rovers roared into a second half blitz which rocked United back on their heels and forced extra time in which they contrived a winner just 20 seconds before a penalty shootout came into force. The tone for this highly entertaining and fast-paced encounter was set almost straight from the kick-off, when Viduka's stunning shot was acrobatically touched over by Murphy and from Jason Burns' corner the Aussie, heading powerfully, was denied by Roberts' goalline clearance. At the other end there was early warning of Challinor's potential when he looped Taylor a clear scoring chance, but Robinson brilliantly pushed his shot aside. And the United keeper shone again a minute later, diving low to his left to keep out Hamilton's goalbound shot. Taylor spurned another chance to establish the lead, shooting over from close range, before setting up a golden opportunity for Barlow, who managed to miskick right in front of goal. That was the signal for Leeds to up their pace and they nosed in front in the 25th minute when Viduka displayed some nifty footwork in the area before bringing in Huckerby, who crashed home an unstoppable shot. Almost immediately Bakke nearly demolished the framework with a cracking 25-yard drive which cannoned back off the bar. In a purple patch for Leeds, Harte was narrowly over with his header from Burns' corner and Viduka sent Matteo surging through on goal only for his shot to be turned round the post by Murphy. The resulting corner, again taken by Burns in the 34th minute, saw Leeds go two up as Huckerby took the short kick in his stride and found the far top corner with his beautifully-angled shot. Tranmere might have pulled one back before the interval, but the hapless Taylor was too slow to react to a Barlow cross which begged to be turned in. Little did we suspect, but the introduction of Andy Parkinson in place of Barlow just five minutes into the second half was to turn the game on its head. His immediate first touch was a 20-yard drive which rifled past Robinson into the far corner and Rovers, fuelled by excellent midfield urgings from Jason Koumas, were suddenly on the rampage. United's only respite was a Harte free kick which was well collected by Murphy and even this followed a Koumas effort which whistled inches wide. Huckerby was forced out of the action by an ankle injury in the 68th minute and his replacement, Tony Hackworth, found it such hard going that he later gave way to Smith. Rovers came up with their equaliser on 75 minutes. Kelly scrambled Allison's header from Challinor's chuck off the line but Yates was on hand to turn it home from close quarters. On came skipper Lucas Radebe for Danny Hay and encouragingly he looked as though he hadn't missed a day since being counted out with a double dose of concussion in the space of 17 days last month. Although he won everything in the air against the imposing Allison both he and Yates were perilously close to grabbing a winner before the end of normal time. Leeds composed themselves in the extra period, Jones bringing Murphy to his knees to save and Viduka going close with a lob. Then, with the seconds ticking away, yet another Challinor lob descended from the sky, United failed to clear and Parkinson's 20-yard shot skittered in via at least one deflection. While this was a massive tribute to the good old-fashioned English cup tie the pity for Leeds is that one route to European football next season has, at such an early stage, been blocked. LEEDS UNITED PAUL ROBINSON Faced a bombardment 7 GARY KELLY Forced into errors 6 JONATHAN WOODGATE Aerial supremacy 7 DANNY HAY Failed to sparkle 6 IAN HARTE Torrid time 6 EIRIK BAKKE Orchestrated affairs 7 MATTHEW JONES Overrun 6 JACOB BURNS Poor second half 6 DOMINIC MATTEO On the back foot 6 DARREN HUCKERBY Double strike 8 MARK VIDUKA Immense presence 7 SUBSTITUTES TONY HACKWORTH (for Huckerby, 68) LUCAS RADEBE (for Hay, 76) ALAN SMITH (for Hackworth, 105) SUBS NOT USED: Milosevic, Evans. TRANMERE ROVERS JOE MURPHY Some good work 7 STEVE YATES All-action 7 DAVE CHALLINOR Massive influence 8 CLINT HILL Sound defence 7 DES HAMILTON Injury woe 6 SEAN FLYNN Captain's innings 7 GARETH ROBERTS Good competitor 7 RICHARD HINDS Tough opponent 7 JASON KOUMAS Ran midfield 9 SCOTT TAYLOR Caused problems 7 STUART BARLOW Disappointing 6 SUBSTITUTES WAYNE ALLISON (for Hamilton, 20) ANDY PARKINSON (for Barlow, 50) WAYNE GILL (for Taylor, 115) SUBS NOT USED: Achterburg, Hazell. REFEREE: Mr R. Stiles (Waterlooville) ATTENDANCE: 11,681 BOOKINGS: Tranmere Rovers - Hinds Leeds United - Viduka The report used to be available online here.
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