Leeds United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1: Warnock’s pre-planning is rewarded with full dividend as Leeds humble Tottenham

Five days after Bradford City created history by becoming the first team to reach a major final while plying their trade in what used to be called Division Four, Leeds United yesterday got in on the act by pulling off a truly stunning upset.

Twenty-seven places may be all that separate United from Tottenham Hostpur in the League standings.

But, in reality, the two clubs are light years apart in terms of resources thanks to United’s nine-year absence from the Premier League.

This much was evident from only the briefest of glances at Andre Villas-Boas’s team-sheet.

There may have been five changes from the team that drew 1-1 with Manchester United a week earlier, but the Spurs manager was still able to field an XI dripping with expensive talent.

In contrast, Leeds have spent much of this month battling to hold on to top scorer Luciano Becchio amid interest from China and Turkey that will, if a deal can be agreed before Thursday’s deadline, see the Argentinian’s weekly wage of around £13,000 trebled.

So, for the Yorkshire club to overcome all those odds to book a place in the FA Cup fifth round for the first time in a decade is truly remarkable.

That United were full value for their win merely added to the sense of joy felt by the home fans in the 29,143 crowd at the final whistle.

Neil Warnock’s side were, quite simply, superb. From the manner in which full-backs Aidan White and Sam Byram rose to the huge challenge of shackling the attacking forays of Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale through to Michael Brown’s dominance in central midfield, the artisans of United were more than a match for the aristocrats of the Premier League.

And when it came to fashioning chances worthy of winning any Cup tie, Leeds were again superior as Luke Varney and Ross McCormack finished with aplomb to send Leeds through to the last 16.

Varney’s big moment came in the 15th minute when he sprang the Spurs offside trap with a perfectly-timed run as Kyle Naughton displayed fatal hesitation when trying to deal with Brown’s through ball.

With a clear run on goal and plenty of time to plan his next move, the summer signing could have panicked but, instead, he used McCormack as a decoy before coolly rolling the ball past Brad Friedel.

It was a sweet moment for Varney, who since his summer move from Portsmouth has come in for criticism from an element of the United support.

That may explain why his celebrations after his second goal for the club were, at best, muted.

But, even so, Varney could, in common with all his team-mates, be proud of his hard-working efforts after being brought into the side as manager Neil Warnock re-jigged his line-up in the absence of wantaway Becchio.

The Leeds chief revealed afterwards that he had selected yesterday’s starting XI as early as last Tuesday.

Clearly, to be forewarned was to be forearmed for the impressive Varney, who just before the break turned creator with a header that caught Jan Vertonghen sufficiently unawares to allow McCormack a clear run at goal.

A defiant block by Friedel rescued Spurs in that instance, but the Scottish international made amends five minutes into the second half by doubling the home side’s lead.

After cushioning a header back to El Hadji-Diouf on halfway, McCormack showed great awareness to race on to the return before curling an exquisite shot beyond Friedel and into the net.

Claiming the game’s all-important second goal was key for Leeds, who last month saw a 1-0 half-time lead against Chelsea in the Capital One Cup quarter-final transformed into a 5-1 thrashing by the final whistle.

So, as Elland Road celebrated McCormack’s fifth goal of the season, there was a tangible feeling among the crowd that this may well be United’s afternoon after all.

Clint Dempsey spurning a great opportunity just four minutes later by firing wide after Aaron Lennon had opened up his former club’s defence merely added to that sense of belief.

Spurs, though, could not possibly be as wasteful again and they duly pulled a goal back just before the hour when Bale, for once escaping the attention of Byram, picked out Dempsey with a fine left-wing cross and the American headed past Jamie Ashdown.

Leeds then wasted a gilt-edged chance to effectively kill off the tie when Byram released McCormack and the Scot saw his shot brilliantly saved by Freidel.

As the game moved into stoppage time, that looked like being a costly miss when John Obika was played clear only to dither and allow Lee Peltier to pull of a game-saving tackle.

Moments later, Kevin Friend’s final blowing of the whistle meant Leeds had joined Luton Town and Milton Keynes Dons in becoming part of a truly remarkable fourth round story that a couple of hours later would also include Oldham Athletic’s win over Liverpool.

And while United’s triumph over Tottenham may not have been on a par with Bradford’s success in reaching the League Cup final the previous Tuesday, an achievement that is unlikely to be matched in the modern day game, the celebrations for Leeds’s win will still have gone on long into the night.

The joy vividly illustrated how much getting the better of a team occupying a Champions League place meant as West Yorkshire football once again basked in a remarkable success for the second time inside a week.