Leeds & Ref 2, Swindon 1

Swindon Town go down 2-1 at Elland Road to Leeds United and referee Mr Mason who was intent on sending the 27,000 Leeds fans home happy after the game.

Mr Mason has to be the most useless referee in England after booking 7 yes, you read that right, 7 Swindon Town players and disallowing a goal that was clearly onside which would have given Town a share of the points at Elland Road.

Town started off the game the better side with the Swindon faithful roaring the side on and looked as if they would be the team to control the game during the first 10 minutes.

Leeds best chance to score in the first half hour came from former Barnet Striker Tresor Kandol who came close however Peter Brezovan was able to clear the danger.

Jermaine Beckford who had a brilliant spell at Scunthorpe last season gave Leeds the lead after their 12th man Mr Mason awarded the home side a penalty after the ball was handled by Town captain Hasney Aljofree inside the area. Beckford would convert the chance sending Peter Brezovan the wrong way.

Town would go into the break 1-0 down however they put on a fantastic performance.

Sadly we missed Town’s first goal of the game due to the long queue’s downstairs for half time food and refreshment however replays showed us that Lee Peacock opened the scoring for Swindon on the 47th minute with a bundled shot past United keeper Kasper Ankergren.

Leeds would pile on the pressure with the United strikeforce of Kandol and Beckford going close on several occasions only for a newly confident Peter Brezovan to clear the danger.

Leeds would take the lead once again thanks to a powerful strike by Beckford that no one at any level would have saved on the 56th minute.

On the 84th minute Town had looked as if they had secured a point thanks to a goal by Simon Cox that clearly looked to be onside. Leeds fans contest the ball was handled by Swindon players and therefore the right decision had been made however the linesman had ruled Cox to be offside after he followed up a Barry Corr strike.

Town would battle forward for the rest of the game looking to make right what looked to be a wrong decision for Swindon.

The 4th official indicated 4 minutes added time, however Town could have had 44 minutes added time but with the referee clearly a fan of the home side, Town were never going to come away with anything from the game.

Player Ratings

Peter Brezovan – 8
Finally looks to be getting his confidence back. Will pressure Phil Smith to keep the shirt when he returns.

Miguel Comminges – 7
Ran around and played some good stuff. Showed his usual pace.

Jerel Ifil – 6
Ifil wasn’t meant to play this match due to a shin injury however due to lack of players Ifil was back in the team however he did look a bit tired at the end of the match. No fault of his own.

Hasney Aljofree – 7
Gave away penalty with a handball but was solid at the back.

Sofiene Zaaboub – 7
Put in some decent crosses and did well infront of the big crowd at Elland Road. Zaaboub looks to be regaining the form that made him a favourite last season.

Christian Roberts – 8
Ran his legs off, was surprised to see Roberts taken off. Managed to get under the skin of the Leeds fans who booed him all game. Seems to play his best when fans are against him.

Craig Easton – 7
Another solid game from Easton. Contines to impress and got stuck in.

Michael Pook – 7
Had a great game at Wycombe and this carried on against Leeds put in several tackles and looks a better player than when he was in the team last.

Lee Peacock – 7
Scored Town’s goal and rallied the troops in the middle of the field. Told a local newspaper he is desperate for a new contract at Swindon. We hope he gets it.

Billy Paynter – 7
Never really looked like scoring but did not stop running all game.

Simon Cox – 7
Unlucky not to claim a second goal for Town, The linesman ruled he was offside whilst Leeds fans claim justice was served at Cox had handled the ball in the box. Was lucky not to be sent off due to a nasty challenge.

Barry Corr – 7
Again ran around and came close to scoring against his former club on a couple of occasions.

Jon-Paul McGovern – 6
Came on and replaced Christian Roberts, didn’t look as good as Roberts but McGovern is a big game player so we can see why he was brought on.

Next Match

Manager Rating
Paul Sturrock 8/10 – Sturrock has been tied down because of the transfer embargo levied on the club however due to injuries he has had to draft in youth team players such as Ben Tozer and Mark Scott. Let’s hope the proposed takeover goes through soon so Town can start to climb the table again.

Opponent Rating
Dennis Wise 8/10 – Wise knows what he is doing at this level. Can he compete in the Championship? That remains to be seen however Wise has got a team high on confidence and fitness like he did at Swindon. Leeds United will go up this season no question.

Leeds V Swindon Match Stats
Click here to see who got the 7 yellow cards for Swindon and view the rest of the games stats by clicking HERE

Leeds United Fans
The Leeds United fans we bumped into at the Britannia pub were fantastic people and very keen to talk to Swindon fans about their experiences in the past and to learn more about Swindon Town. It was a great day out and at night we had a brilliant time out in Leeds. The only sour note was the so-called hooligans who were about 10-15 years old lobbing beer cans at the pub windows in the Britannia Pub trying to intimidate Swindon Town fans. The locals, Leeds fans and Swindon fans soon got rid of the scum. Leeds Fans during the match were very loud at times and it was great to visit a stadium with a decent crowd. In all Leeds fans seemed very knowledgable and we hope to meet up with some before our return match at the County Ground next year.

Next Match
Coca Cola League One – Swindon Town V Bristol Rovers, Saturday 24 November 2007, 3pm Kick Off