Leeds United 2 Oldham Athletic 0: Leeds come out of the cold with Becchio double

AS heavy snow fell across the region last night, Elland Road was transformed into a Winter Wonderland for the hardy souls braving the arctic weather.

Not only did Leeds United claim a much-needed victory courtesy of two second-half goals from Luciano Becchio.

They also saw their automatic promotion hopes given a major boost as Charlton Athletic slumped to a shock home defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion.

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It means Leeds, who before the visit of Oldham had taken just seven points from eight games in 2010, make the short trip to Huddersfield Town on Saturday with renewed confidence that a place in the top two is their destiny.

Admittedly, United's display in completing a league double over the Latics was by no means a classic.

For much of the first half, Simon Grayson's men spent far too long pumping aimless long balls forward that were easily dealt with by the imposing centre-half pairing of Sean Gregan and Reuben Hazell.

But, when the hosts did get the ball down and play after the break, there were signs of the early season swagger that threatened to turn the League One title race into a procession.

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Robert Snodgrass, in particular, looked to have regained his confidence, while Becchio has now scored five goals in his last six starts to offer some much-needed support to Jermaine Beckford.

United's top scorer continues to frustrate and excite in equal measure, his most telling contributions of the first half being to spurn a great early chance and then request a pair of gloves from the bench to keep his hands warm.

However, just as the growing number of critics among the Elland Road faithful started to question the commitment of a striker seemingly destined for Everton in the summer, Beckford stepped centre stage to create the opening goal.

Aidan White, brought in on the left flank to try to stretch the Oldham defence with his pace, was the initial instigator of the 54th-minute move with a searing break from within his own half. He then spread play to Beckford, who had cleverly found space on the left flank.

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The 24-goal hitman then showed tremendous poise and skill to ghost past right-back Alex Marrow before curling a shot that Dean Brill could only palm into the path of Becchio, who could not miss from inside the six-yard box.

In front of Elland Road's smallest crowd of the season – the 17,635 being asked to pay Category A prices of 32 to watch from the side and 27 behind the goal – it was the perfect fillip and Leeds duly doubled their advantage just after the hour.

Snodgrass was the creator this time with a sublime turn and cross that invited a bullet header from Becchio to seal the points.

The double strike meant the home fans were able to forget the injustice of a hugely debatable decision from referee Paul Taylor that left United incensed in the final moments of the first half.

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As Becchio attempted to reach an inviting Snodgrass cross five yards inside the Oldham penalty area, he was bundled to the ground by Hazell.

Even the Oldham defender looked round fearing the worst, only for Taylor to wave play on.

The Hertfordshire official had got it right when rejecting an earlier appeal when the same two players had tangled in the area but the one on the stroke of half-time rightly left the home crowd infuriated. It capped a frustrating 45 minutes that had seen plenty of effort from Leeds but little end result.

The best opening had come on seven minutes when Hughes found sufficient space on the right to drill a pass in for Beckford, who despite having lost his marker then shot wide.

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Snodgrass then burst past Dean Furman befure unleashing a fierce drive that flew inches wide of both Dean Brill's despairing dive and the post.

The Scot was again involved seven minutes before the break with a cross that Becchio nodded into the path of Michael Doyle but the on-loan midfielder could only fire straight at Brill in the visitors' goal.

At that stage, it seemed like being another frustrating night for Leeds only for Becchio to calm any promotion jitters inside Elland Road with a timely second-half double.

Leeds United: Ankergren; Hughes, Naylor, Kisnorbo, Lowry; Snodgrass, Howson, Doyle, White (Gradel 65); Becchio (Johnson 89), Beckford (Grella 84). Unused substiututes: Martin, Kilkenny, McSheffrey, Bromby.

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Oldham Athletic: Brill; Marrow, Hazell, Gregan, Jacobson; Smalley (Colbeck 59), Furman (Lomax 75), Stephens, Taylor; Abbott (Eaves 80), Price. Unused substiututes: Flahavan, Aljofree, Parker, Lee.

Referee: P Taylor (Hertfordshire).