please log in to view this image Getting up at silly o’clock, sorry 3.30am, meant only one thing, away games were back. With an outside temperature of three degrees in Leeds we headed to the glorious sunny weather down in London with a better journey there than I’d have dared hope for. This ground in my opinion has been one of the worst ones to get to as a Leeds fan over the years but at least by the early start, was able to sleep a lot of the way there and back. After supporting Leeds United for over 50 years, the one thing I’ve always raved about is the camaraderie, love and loyalty of our support that has got us through both the good and bad times. Today was one of those days with the personal support for me after the death of my mum last week. The outpouring of support was phenomenal and is why Leeds United supporters are second to none. The hugs, words of comfort and no words needing to be spoken were greatly appreciated even though I couldn’t stop the tears from falling so thank you all. Although heartbroken as a family regarding my mum, we did have some good news this week. For those who have been following my story about my husband’s terminal cancer diagnosis, his consultant informed him that there has been no growth or spread of his cancer, so no treatment required at this moment. Team: Meslier, Cooper, Kristensen, Aaronson, Adams, Bamford, Harrison, Struijk, Koch, Roca and Rodrigo. Subs: Somerville for Bamford (62), Klich for Aaronson (76), Ayling for Kristensen (84), Gelhardt for Roca (84). Subs not used: Klaesson, Llorente, Gnonto, Greenwood, Gyabi. Attendance: 25,002 with 2,687 Leeds fans. Leeds lost the game 2-1 after taking the lead with a goal by Struijk (10). Referee: Paul Tierney. Booked: Struijk, Kristensen. The game started off brightly enough with Leeds fans in good voice. It didn’t take long for Leeds to take the lead when a great run from Aaronson saw the ball rebound off the post and Struijk followed up hitting the ball into the net. Bamford saw a great chance saved by their keeper before Palace equalised. Suddenly on the notice board it said VAR was looking at their goal for a possible offside but when it took so long for a decision to be made, I knew the goal would be given. Palace committed a couple of cynical fouls with one given a final warning and another dragging Bamford down to stop him breaking clear. Leeds kept going forward although we didn’t get many clear shots in at goal but when one of Palace’s players went down injured in their penalty area it took the sting out of the game and despite five minutes of injury time played, we went in at half time on level terms. Kristensen was getting involved in a lot of defending and made a vital block that went out for a corner. This only seemed to spur Palace on and Meslier was brought into action to keep them out. The game changed when Palace made their first substitutions and Bamford was replaced for Leeds. Despite him being rusty, he was able to hold the ball up and once he went off, we couldn’t do that, so Palace won the long balls and were straight back on the attack. Our next sub saw Aaronson taken off and Klich on. Before we were able to regroup, the ball was in our net as Palace took the lead. From that moment on there was no coming back for Leeds as we looked devoid of any ideas of how to ensure we got at least a point out of this game. There was only going to be one winner and it wasn’t us sadly and the Leeds fans en masse realised this too as they went quiet. The referee the. Should have straight away booked the Palace players for time wasting when one of their players threw the ball away when ours went to get it. Instead, they were able to use this to their advantage as they got away with every fall for the last few minutes. It probably wouldn’t have made any difference to the score, but it would be nice to treat teams the same! After having high hopes that we would get at least a draw after taking the lead, it’s gutting to come away with nothing. As all points count standing still isn’t good, however, we’ll just have to beat Arsenal instead. See you there, LUFC - Marching on Together. As we just got back to Leeds, we heard the plane carrying the team had landed at Leeds Bradford Airport but they had to evacuate onto the runway but are back home now thank goodness. please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
Thanks for that Heidi. Always great to get the insider view and good positive news for your husband too
