A superb effort from the brilliant Jason Koumas gave Cardiff City their first league victory at Elland Road since March 1921, and it was a richly-deserved triumph. Backed by a tiny but enthusiastic band of travelling fans, the Bluebirds produced a terrific performance full of grit and determination against a Leeds side who were sitting third in the table before play started after four successive victories. Manager Dave Jones had worked hard with his players throughout the week on a new 4-4-1-1 formation, and his tactics worked to perfection as City defended magnificently and dominated the midfield exchanges, especially during the first half. Koumas’s excellent strike from a trademark free-kick proved enough to earn all three points and lift the team back into the Championship play-off zone. That other Cardiff league victory at Elland Road, way back in 1921, came in a season when Keenor and Co exceeded all expectations by gaining promotion to the old First Division. Is that an omen? Can it happen again? Well, we can dream, can’t we?
This was one of the notorious bubble trips, whereby City fans are only allowed to travel to the game on alcohol-free coaches organised either by the football club itself or by the Cardiff City Supporters Club. After much debate, the Valley RAMS supporters group had decided to boycott the trip due to the restrictions, so the travelling Bluebirds numbered just 159.
For those of who were making the journey to Yorkshire on the bus provided by Cardiff City, the day began outside Ninian Park at 7-15am. I arrived to find two empty coaches and about sixty or so people milling around waiting to get on them. The problem was that the drivers couldn’t make up their minds who was supposed to be on what bus. The driver of coach one was adamant that he was booked to take the club’s staff to Leeds. The driver of coach two thought he was taking the Supporters Club but he wasn’t too sure. And neither of them knew who was supposed to be driving the fans who had booked to travel with the club. With two buses, two groups of fans and no club staff present, the solution to this mysterious riddle wasn’t exactly rocket science. Unfortunately, however, it seems that Thomas Coaches of Barry don’t actually employ any rocket scientists, so the arguments continued to rage for another ten minutes until Supporters Club rep Vince Alm intervened and sorted things out.
We eventually departed at 7-40am with around 35 fans onboard. After a half-hour stop at the services on the way up, we pulled into the rendezvous point to meet our police escort and collect our match tickets at 12-15pm. The amount of police present was ridiculous – many more than were necessary, as they had obviously planned to be dealing with a far larger number of City supporters. That said, the officers were no problem at all, and after a quick half-hearted search of the coaches they allowed everyone to go across to the services if they wanted to. Four or five Leeds club officials arrived at about 12-30pm in order to hand out the match tickets. Looking like a cross between the Mafia and the Chuckle Brothers, they got their job done quickly, and fans were also handed a voucher each by the CCFC stewards giving them priority to an Arsenal cup ticket as a thank you for travelling.
The four coaches of City fans left the services with an escort of police vans and bikes at around 1-00pm and arrived at Elland Road at 1-30pm. The police presence outside the ground was huge. They were clearly prepared to take no chances at all after the problems caused by rioting Leeds fans after the game last season. We were then escorted from a compound a hundred yards or so from the ground across to the turnstiles. To our left, a couple of hundred hostile locals had gathered to welcome us, but they had absolutely no chance of getting through the police barriers, so they had to content themselves by hurling torrents of abuse in our direction. Bizarrely, many were shouting that we were a bunch of you-know-whats because we were too scared to turn up. But we had turned up. So how does that work exactly?
Anyway, inside the ground it was a very pleasant surprise to find the bar open (I don’t think it was last year, but I may be wrong about that), and a few pints of Strongbow went down an absolute treat after the long journey. £2-80 a pint was a bit steep, but such is life. It was also nice to find a Ladbrokes representative taking bets on the match in the away fans area. At around 2-30pm, suspended Bluebirds captain Darren Purse and his lovely wife arrived in the away section, and Pursey was more than happy to talk to the fans, sign autographs and have pictures taken with anyone who wanted them. What a top man (and player) this bloke is. Those who said he was only coming here for the money pre-season, hang your heads in shame. Several members of the Jerome family had also travelled over from Huddersfield, which was good to see.
City’s small group of fans were housed in the Elland Road South East Upper stand, known locally as the cheese wedge – a curious corner section of the ground with bright yellow seats. Although the stand is in an odd position, it still affords a great view of the pitch providing you don’t get stuck behind one of the pillars holding the roof up, but with such a tiny following, there wasn’t much chance of that happening to anyone!
Leeds had apparently expected their biggest crowd of the season, but they didn’t get it. One big change from our visit earlier in the year was that the stand to our left, which was empty last season, is now open to home fans (or at least the bottom half of it is). That was good news as it added plenty to the atmosphere – most of the Leeds fans in that stand were noisy youngsters. Our noisy youngsters positioned themselves up towards the back of the cheese wedge next to the Leeds fans to our right, and they immediately set about making themselves heard despite the fact that they were so heavily outnumbered by their rivals. All credit to them. They started singing ten minutes before kick-off, and didn’t stop until they were back on their coaches. Excellent work, lads!
As the teams were announced there was a surprise in the City line-up. Neil Cox came in for Purse, and Kevin Cooper made a welcome return after his knee operation to take the place of Paul Parry, who had been ill during the week. Michael Ricketts was ineligible to play under the terms of his loan deal, so Alan Lee had been expected to take his place. However, manager Dave Jones instead decided to bring Willie Boland back into central midfield and push Joe Ledley out wide, giving Jason Koumas a floating role behind Cameron Jerome.
Well-known names in the home team’s line-up included Sean Gregan and Rob Hulse, who were allegedly City transfer targets during Lennie Lawrence’s reign, Scottish international keeper Neil Sullivan, Irish defender Gary Kelly, USA winger Eddie Lewis, former-Burnley forward Robbie Blake and Northern Ireland striker David Healy.
The Bluebirds started brightly, and it was immediately apparent that the new 4-4-1-1 system had thrown the Leeds midfield off balance. It didn’t look like they were geared up for it all. Koumas quickly gave the home side all sorts of problems, while Whitley, Boland, Ledley and Cooper hunted in packs, retained possession well and picked up almost every loose ball. At the back, Loovens and Cox looked more comfortable together than they have done previously, and Weston and Barker were responsible for some great work on the flanks.
City nearly pinched an early lead on nine minutes. Weston fed Jerome, who wriggled clear on the right and sent over a peach of a cross which Ledley volleyed into the arms of Sullivan. It was a comfortable save for the keeper, but an excellent move all the same. Cooper was on top form – very busy, always making himself available, and rarely wasting a pass. He won a free-kick on seventeen minutes which Jerome headed narrowly wide after a great delivery from Koumas.
The visiting fans were in fine voice from the off, and did their very best to make themselves heard despite the small numbers. Anti-Leeds standards such as ‘you’re not famous anymore’, ‘there’s only one Scott Young’ and ‘there’s only one Peter Ridsdale’ rang out from the cheese wedge. There was a good comedy moment after a quarter of an hour when a few stewards moved in and attempted to make everyone sit down, which was frankly ridiculous given the fact that there was an entire stand full of Leeds fans standing up to our left, and there were so few Cardiff fans anyway. The lads at the back piped up with ‘they’re not sitting over there!’ which even made the Leeds fans laugh. The stewards appeared to see sense, and beat a hasty retreat.
Leeds were restricted to hopeful long-range efforts that failed to test Neil Alexander during the first half, as Loovens and Cox successfully shackled the dangerous pairing of Healy and Hulse. Before the game, many City supporters believed that Weston was likely to struggle against the talented Lewis, but the Welsh international coped admirably with his opponent and managed to get forward himself on a regular basis. On one such occasion, in the twenty-first minute, he whipped in a great cross that Kelly headed away for a corner. From Koumas’s flag kick, Loovens was unlucky to see his close-range effort bounce against the bar. The papers have reported that it was Ledley who struck the woodwork, but I’m pretty sure it was the Dutch defender.
The Bluebirds finally got the breakthrough they deserved in the thirty-first minute, when Koumas was brought down by Gregan around twenty two yards from goal. The challenge earned the former-West Brom man a booking, and he was punished further as Koumas curled a wicked, dipping strike around the wall that beat Sullivan all ends up. To say the small City contingent went nuts would be something of an understatement. Has the club ever had a better dead-ball specialist than Koumas on its books? I somehow doubt it.
After the joy of the goal, a new song quickly became a firm favourite with the Cardiff faithful. To the tune of Tom Hark, they sang ‘Peter Ridsdale mucked you up, now he’s with us and we’re going up!’ The word ‘mucked’ wasn’t the one they actually used, but you get the picture. Suffice to say that the Leeds fans were not amused......
Half-time arrived without Leeds having managed a serious shot on goal. Alexander was largely a spectator thanks to the excellent work of the defenders in front of him. All of the City midfielders had won their personal battles and they had also worked very well as a unit, Jerome had been busy up front, and Koumas looked far and away the best player on the pitch.
I popped down to the bar for a quick half-time pint, and when I got there I remembered my pre-match bets at the Ladbrokes stand - £5 on Jerome to score first at 8/1, and £5 on Koumas to score first at 10/1. Get in there! Trip paid for, and I’d forgotten all about it in the excitement of the first half. Top darts!
Leeds boss Kevin Blackwell obviously read his side the riot act during the break, and they began the second period with much more purpose. Five minutes after the restart, Blake theatrically went to ground in the penalty area, but referee Salisbury of Lancashire was having none of it and waved play on.
Although they won more of the ball in midfield during the second half and retained more possession, Leeds rarely threatened to score as the Bluebirds’ rearguard coped admirably. The dodgiest moment came with about ten minutes left to play when a corner from the right was powerfully nodded towards goal by Hulse. The effort looked to be on its way into the net but Weston instinctively diverted the ball away with a terrific header. Hulse then blazed the ball over from a decent position inside the area a couple of minutes later, which prompted a hearty rendition of ‘are you Swansea in disguise?’ from those situated in the cheese wedge.
Cooper was replaced by Neil Ardley with five minutes left to play, having run himself into the ground. It was an amazing performance from a man having his first game back after a knee operation. He never stopped working and his use of the ball was first class. Some, including myself, wondered just what he was bringing to the team during the early season games, but this player has become more and more influential as the campaign has worn on, and we clearly miss him badly when he’s out of the side. His efforts at Leeds were outstanding.
City survived a late scare after the fourth official had indicated there would be four minutes of stoppage time. Where the ref got that lot from I don’t know, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt as I thought he had a fine game otherwise. A deep cross form the right was met by a Lewis header, but the American directed the ball straight at a grateful Alexander.
The final whistle sounded shortly afterwards, and the Cardiff fans went berserk. The players came over to applaud the supporters, and after they’d left the pitch I slumped back into my seat, exhausted. My voice was almost gone, my hands were red-raw from applauding so much and I felt totally drained. Cardiff City had beaten Leeds United. Again. But this time we’d beaten them at Elland Road. And they didn’t like it up ‘em, believe me. Not one little bit. We seem to have become their bogey team, which is nice!
We were kept in the ground for about a quarter of an hour or so while the police cleared the area, and while we were waiting to be let out, the atmosphere was absolutely terrific. Darren Purse was still in there with us, still signing autographs and posing for photos with the fans. Sam Hammam walked around the pitch and bowed down in front of the supporters before returning to the stand opposite. And the stewards and police were all in good humour. Several of the stewards were from Newcastle, which was a bit strange. Not sure what they were doing there, couldn’t work that out. One told me he was delighted with our victory because he hates Leeds with a passion! Thankfully, there was no repeat of last year’s chaos outside, so we were back on our coaches and on our way home fairly quickly. No stops on the way back, and I was dropped at the Gabalfa interchange at 9-20pm. Back in the pub by 9-45pm. What a splendid day that was.
Dave Jones has built us a serious team by this division’s standards, and yesterday they were outstanding. Alexander had little to do in goal, but what he had to do he did efficiently. The full-back pairing of Barker and Weston were very solid. It’s great to see Weston defying his critics (including me) yet again. He’s in very good form at the moment. Cox was excellent, especially when you consider that he was ill the night before the game according to reports. I’ve had some doubts about him since he arrived, but he couldn’t be faulted yesterday. Loovens was a colossus. Plain and simple. What a player this lad is! He doesn’t quite have Gabbidon’s ability on the ball, but I reckon he’s the better defender of the two. The club will do very well to hang on to him in the summer. He looks Premiership-bound to me. Whitley and Boland worked like Trojans in the middle of the park, Ledley had his best game for a while, Jerome was always a threat to the home defence, and there were times when Koumas made Leeds look silly. I have already spoken about Cooper’s contribution, which was immense. While Koumas’s class has again stolen the headlines, for me the man-of-the-match award would be a tie between Cooper and Loovens. The pair barely put a foot wrong between them during what was a great team performance.
What a shame there were so few City fans there to enjoy it. I won’t drone on about club politics, the Arsenal tickets fiasco or the RAMS self-defeating boycott now. It wouldn’t be appropriate in a match report. But I will say this: we are all Cardiff City supporters. Whatever the situation, we should be sticking together and supporting Cardiff City Football Club. Dave Jones is doing a wonderful job and his players are getting some fantastic results. They need our backing. We are fifth in the Championship – a position we could only have dreamed about a few years ago when we were losing to the likes of Bury and Mansfield on a regular basis. Never mind bubble trips and cup tickets. Never mind who belongs to what supporters club. And never mind whether you agree with Sam Hammam and his policies or not – isn’t supporting our team the most important thing? We are supposed to be football supporters after all. Isn't it better to talk about all of the other issues after we've given our side the best support we possibly can?
NigelBlues usually finishes his match reports by giving us a run-down of the money he has spent on his travels, so in the interests of continuity I’ll do the same:
The cost of watching Cardiff City beat Leeds United in a league match at Elland Road for the first time since 1921:
PRICELESS!
Report from FootyMad
A stunning free-kick by Jason Koumas in the 31st minute earned Cardiff City their first league win at Elland Road since 1921 and gave Peter Ridsdale a happy return to West Yorkshire.
Cardiff's executive vice-chairman Ridsdale made his first visit to the ground since resigning as Leeds chairman in 2003 with the club in financial turmoil and it wasn't long before United supporters made their feelings known.
An anti-Ridsdale chant rang out from The Kop in the first minute and with 13 minutes gone there was a stand-up protest.
Leeds, whose four-match winning run came to an end with the defeat, made just one change from the side which defeated Leicester, teenage midfielder Simon Walton giving way to the experienced Sean Gregan who returned after a one-match ban.
Cardiff skipper Darren Purse was suspended and Leeds would not allow on-loan striker Michael Ricketts to play against them, so Neil Cox and Willie Boland came in and Kevin Cooper replaced Paul Parry who was demoted to the bench.
Leeds had failed to beat Cardiff in three meetings since being relegated from the Premiership, including a 2-1 defeat at Ninian Park in August.
Cardiff had only 210 supporters, all of whom had travelled on officially organised trips, but they had plenty of early encouragement. Joe Ledley found space in the penalty area to volley left-footed at goalkeeper Neil Sullivan.
Then, when Leeds captain Paul Butler fouled Ledley, Koumas saw his free-kick headed just wide by the leaping Cameron Jerome who battled on his own in Cardiff's attack.
Leeds were outnumbered in midfield where Cardiff enjoyed most of the possession and when defender Glenn Loovens moved forward his stabbed shot bounced over the Leeds defence and on to the bar in the 21st minute.
Cardiff's pressure finally paid off when Koumas was fouled by Gregan and got to his feet to strike the 20-yard free-kick just inside the far post. Gregan was rightly booked for the clumsy challenge.
It was 34 minutes before Cardiff keeper Neil Alexander had a shot to save, Liam Miller trying his luck from 25 yards, and Leeds left the field to a chorus of boos at the interval.
Robbie Blake angered Cardiff midfielder Jeff Whitley by falling too easily inside the box, but the referee wasn't fooled and there was no penalty.
Leeds manager Kevin Blackwell needed to improve things and he replaced left-back Dan Harding with the more attack-minded Danny Pugh 12 minutes into the second half.
However, Leeds couldn't find the form that had brought them four successive wins and when Rob Hulse created a chance for Eddie Lewis the American spooned his shot much too high.
Gregan had struggled in midfield and it was no surprise when he was replaced by Jonathan Douglas with 20 minutes left. Ian Moore also replaced Blake but it was defender Matthew Kilgallon who went closest to an equaliser when his 77th minute header was cleared off the line by Kevin Cooper.
Hulse also went close with a diving header and Lewis headed straight at Alexander as Cardiff held out.
External Reports
The Guardian
MAMF (Leeds)
Western Mail
Wales On Sunday
Leeds Today