please log in to view this image I was like a kid in a sweet shop this morning. The FA Cup still means a lot to me and this was going to be our best chance of progressing in the cup as far as I was concerned. Without disrespecting Accrington Stanley as I knew they would be playing out of their skins today, it’s about time we showed the competition the respect it deserves. For far too long it has been a case of throwing the towel in even before the games kicked off preferring to concentrate on league positions. Doing both never seemed to be a consideration but as someone privileged to have been at Wembley in 1972 to see Leeds win the FA Cup, it damn well should have been. After all the turmoil Accrington Stanley have been through to even exist, I was glad that we had got them in this round as it meant they got some well-deserved finances from a capacity crowd as well as a visit to a new ground for me. I had a great view on the second row of seats by the half way line and thank you to those of you who have sent photos of me being caught on the TV cameras. My only complaint was that I had to take my flag down off the fence behind the advertising hoardings which was a disappointment. I decided to do what I used to do in the 70s and wear it around my neck and despite the many comments, I was certainly warm enough. There were many familiar faces today and it was good to catch up with lots of our fans either having photos taken or having a chat. Team: Meslier, Bamford, Koch, Wöber, Roca, Kristensen, Greenwood, Sinisterra, Firpo, Rutter (Georginio) making his FA Cup debut and Harrison. Subs: Rodrigo for Sinisterra (69), Perkins for Rutter (76), Llorente for Koch (76), Aaronson for Bamford (76), Joseph for Harrison (89). Leeds won the game 3-1 with goals by Harrison (23), Firpo (66), Sinisterra (68). Attendance, 5,268 with 2,632 Leeds fans. Referee: Josh Smith. Booked: Greenwood. Leeds found out very quickly that Accrington were there to try and win the game. Apart from both sides having chances with Meslier called to make saves and ours going wide, they continued to attack us. We kept knocking the ball up front but as they had some tall players, they won the ball back more often than not. My thoughts were that we couldn’t let them get a goal first otherwise we would be in trouble. I was disappointed at how quiet our fans were especially as it was the Accrington fans making the most noise and they weren’t wrong when they later sang, “you only sing when you’re winning”. We needed to weather the storm and were lucky to have kept them out, when against the run of play, Leeds took the lead. With a move in front of us as we attacked the goal to our right, Kristensen made a good run before passing the ball which saw Harrison score a screamer after good work from both Greenwood and Bamford. That was a welcome relief that’s for sure. After coming close to scoring a second, Leeds were on the backfoot as Accrington brought another save from Meslier. As Bamford had a shot saved then was denied a penalty appeal, Sinisterra saw his shot bounce back off the post. Leeds fans were up in arms as decisions in our favour were ignored by the referee despite some blatant fouling. With chances happening at both ends thick and fast, Kristensen’s shot across the box wasn’t far away, but we managed to keep Accrington out as we kept the single goal lead going into the break. We had to be thankful at the start of the second half as their player was in space at the left of the goal, but his shot went high over the crossbar and another chance shortly afterwards went wide. As some fans were wanting Marsch to make changes, for once I didn’t want to make any too soon as I felt we could capitulate and let them in making it harder to get a win. As it was my judgement was right as we started to attack with both Bamford and Sinisterra getting in good positions to shoot. Leeds extended their lead shortly afterwards as Bamford sent a superb pass into the penalty area for Firpo to score and then Harrison provided Sinisterra with a great pass after a great run down the wing as we went three up. That felt a lot better, and it was only then that we made the first sub but still managed a few more chances to score another. Accrington made four subs and if we thought it was already game over we were mistaken as they pulled a goal back. Meslier was out of goal as he made the save but they got to the rebound first and passed the ball into the penalty area to score. It was important they didn’t get a second to put us under pressure in the last minutes of the half, but Leeds got the win. It is the first time we will be in the fifth round draw for many a year and we will know on Monday who we will be playing. An interesting stat from @lufcstats aka Andrew Dalton was that winning today at Accrington was our 1972nd in our history, the year we won our only FA Cup. As I said to him before the game, I was hoping it was a good omen which it turned out to be. Getting the win today means that feelgood factor is immense. Winning breeds winning in my eyes but we will be back in league action next Sunday at Forest where the points really count. See you there, LUFC – Marching on Together! please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
Brilliant Heidi. We are certainly on the same wavelength regarding the fa cup. At last we have a squad that could give this thing a run again
Saw you wander past down the front a couple of times with the flag wrapped around you. I was sat on the back row somewhere just behind you by the sound of it. In fact you can just see the top of my wifes head at the top right of the bottom photo.
It’s hard to say at the moment to be honest. Although his shooting wasn’t good at times he contributed plenty to the game. I would much rather play with two upfront anyway but I can’t see Marsch playing both Bamford and Rodrigo as a pair
