Leeds United 0 Birmingham 2: Elland Road now no place for visitors to fear

A LOT can happen in 215 days.
3 October 2015.......  Leeds United v Birmingham City. 
Jacques Maghoma fires in the second goal for Birmingham. Picture by Tony Johnson3 October 2015.......  Leeds United v Birmingham City. 
Jacques Maghoma fires in the second goal for Birmingham. Picture by Tony Johnson
3 October 2015....... Leeds United v Birmingham City. Jacques Maghoma fires in the second goal for Birmingham. Picture by Tony Johnson

The past seven months, for instance, have seen England’s cricketers pull off a shock Ashes win, the Conservatives claim an even more unlikely General Election triumph and, perhaps most unexpectedly of all, the United States put aside more than half a century of hostility to re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba.

What we have not seen, however, amid those Titanic events is so much as a solitary Leeds United home win.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Ten games at Elland Road have come and gone since Ipswich Town were beaten 2-1 on March 4 and the Yorkshire club has bagged a risible five points.

It is a woeful run and, on the evidence of how a disciplined Birmingham City returned to the Midlands with a deserved three points, one that seems unlikely to improve any time soon.

Certainly, any side due to visit LS11 in the coming weeks could do a lot worse than take note of the game-plan employed by Gary Rowett.

Pace to burn in attack together with a well-drilled midfield and defence proved a hugely effective combination for the Blues, who triumphed courtesy of a goal in each half from Demarai Gray and Jacques Maghoma.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Bradford-born Clayton Donaldson may not have got on the scoresheet but there was no doubting the major role the jet-heeled striker played in ensuring United equalled an unwanted club record.

He also knows a thing or two about teams struggling in front of their own fans, Donaldson having been part of the Birmingham side that won just once in 26 league games at St Andrews in a run that culminated in an 8-0 hammering by Bournemouth last October.

“Leeds haven’t won here for seven months and that has to play on their minds,” said the Blues striker when speaking exclusively to The Yorkshire Post.

“It is every away team’s dream to hear Leeds are on a run like that. Something is obviously wrong and the players are also going to be nervous.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I remember when I signed for Birmingham, it was the same story for us. We didn’t win at home for about 13 months. It was a crazy run.

“We could feel the hostility in the ground and Leeds seem to be going through that now. Coming to Elland Road, we had a game-plan and that was to frustrate Leeds, then try and catch them on the break.

“You have to try and play on people being nervous. The place is full of tension and the game-plan worked well for us.”

Life will not get any easier for United on home soil with leaders Brighton & Hove Albion due at Elland Road when the Championship resumes after the international break.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Donaldson added: “Things do change. We got that first win and everyone could feel the turnaround. All of a sudden, we weren’t nervous about making mistakes.

“Being born not far from here, I have a few family members who are Leeds fans – which I am not too happy about.

“No, seriously, it is a club I want to do well. I have ties here with my younger cousin and brother playing here. This is a big club and I want them to do well, though obviously not ahead of us.

“It will turn round for Leeds, as they have a good manager and an excellent set of players.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The afternoon had begun amid an air of optimism among the majority of the 24,601 crowd with the side selected by Uwe Rosler looking, on paper, to be his most attack-minded of the season.

Will Buckley’s selection meant United carried a potential threat down each flank, while Alex Mowatt playing off lone frontman Chris Wood, fit again after missing the defeat at Middlesbrough, also suggested the Blues defence would be tested.

The reality, however, was rather different with Rosler’s men managing to put Birmingham under any concerted pressure only for a brief spell early in the second half.

Jordan Botaka’s introduction from the bench along with Mirco Antenucci helped, as did the United midfield belatedly discovering a tempo that rose above pedestrian.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

During this spell, Tomasz Kuszczak was called on to make the second of only two genuine saves of note to deny Lewis Cook after Antenucci had linked well with Wood. His first had come courtesy of a lucky ricochet on the stroke of half-time that presented Stuart Dallas with an opening that the former Manchester United goalkeeper slammed shut by beating the wideman’s shot away.

Those two saves apart, however, Kuszczak was rarely tested. At the other end, Marco Silvestri was kept much busier due to City’s ability to break at speed.

Never was this more apparent than for the two goals. The first came just after the half-hour mark, Gray finishing with aplomb after United had been caught out by Donaldson’s pace.

City’s clincher in the ‘91st-minute’ also owed everything to a swift counter-attack, as Maghoma raced past Sam Byram before drilling a shot beyond Silvestri to ensure the current Elland Road crop matched the 1981-82 side’s record of 10 winless home games.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Captain Sol Bamba said: “We can’t panic. That is the message. We have to stay positive. I understand the worries that everyone will have because we are not winning home games. But we will put this right.

“It is not nerves. We know the expectation of the club and we have to be tough in the head – and be men.

“We need to perform. After one home win, things will change. We just need that first home win.”