FA Cup Third Round Liveblog: Manchester United v. Leeds United

Leeds: Trying To Do It For Don

Boy oh boy, and to think I woke from my Liverpool-related malaise (seriously… 1-1 on the road to Reading? eesh) with this matchup waiting.

Leeds United v. Manchester United. Don Revie v. Matt Busby (kinda, but not really).

These two teams hate one another, though to be fair, the animosity is more on Leeds’ side these days as current form has split the teams apart. It’s like Holland v. Germany; the hatred was strong once upon a time, but now it’s just the Dutch doing the spitting.

Anyways, it’s still got more passion to it than any Sunderland/Barrow tilt, so join me after the jump for all the action.

Lineups:

Man Utd: Kuszczak, Neville, Vidic, Jonathan Evans, Fabio Da Silva, Welbeck, Gibson, Anderson, Obertan, Berbatov, Rooney.

Subs: Amos, Brown, Owen, Giggs, Tosic, Carrick, Rafael Da Silva.

Leeds: Ankergren, Crowe, Naylor, Kisnorbo, Hughes, Howson, Kilkenny, Doyle, Johnson, Beckford, Becchio.

Subs: David Martin, Prutton, Grella, Michalik, Snodgrass, Capaldi, White.

Referee: Chris Foy (Merseyside)

True to form, Fergie respects his opponents with a half-strength XI.

And we’re off!

2 mins: Darron Gibson loves to shoot from range, sometimes to devastating effect (see: United v. Hull City late last season). His 30-yard effort this time around wasn’t so pretty.

4 mins: Rooney does well down the left with Kisnorbo in hot pursuit as the pair chase a long ball. Rooney cuts it back onto his right foot and floats a cross to the far post where Berbatov is waiting, but Casper Ankergren is having none of it and plucks the ball from the sky.

5 mins: Bradley Johnson gets behind Gary Neville down the left wing and wins a corner off the aging defender’s leg, though the delivery is rubbish and Kuszczak flops on it. Then some nice work by Beckford to corral a cross down and onto his right foot, but with Gary Neville nudging him in the back, the striker can only sky his volley well over the bar.

8 mins: This Leeds side is very different from the Dirty Days of the 1970s. Kisnorbo knows how to leave a boot in the tackle, but the midfield is surprisingly agile. No wonder they’re well out in front in League One at the moment. I still have nightmares about their cash-heavy 1990s squads with the likes of Mark Viduka (when he wasn’t fat), Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink (when he wasn’t rubbish) and the first UK appearance of Eric Cantona. It remains a major puzzle that Leeds let Cantona go to United so easily, considering that the Frenchman helped the Red Devils to a slew of trophies in that decade.

10 mins: A decent deep cross from the left flies across Ankergren’s goal, but no United players are inside the 6-yard-box to toepoke it home.

11 mins: Beckford gets separation again and has a crack on goal. It’s on target, but from 40-odd yards it isn’t troubling Tomas Kuszczak. Maybe it’d be 1-0 to Leeds if Ben Foster was in goal.

14 mins: Getting down the flanks is the order of the day for both teams. This time United get fleet-footed teen Obertan round the back of Jason Crowe, but his cut-back is cut off by Ankergren. United have another chance moments later as Obertan tricks his marker again on the right, but he opts to cross instead of shoot from the edge of the box and the Frenchman misses Rooney and puts the ball behind the second man. Chance disappears. Leeds are living dangerously early on.

16 mins: United should be 1-0 up…. Manchester, that is. Rooney glides past a couple of defenders and fails to link-up with Gibson with Ankergren outnumbered.

GOAL GOAL GOAL GOAL, and Wes Brown confirms his uselessness! A long ball from Jonathan Howson in midfield finds Beckford streaking toward goal with just Wes Brown tracking back to defend. To the surprise of no-one, Jermaine Beckford beats Brown to the ball and slides it past Kuszczak who tried to close the striker down. The ball dribbles towards goal with no-one back to cover, and it rolls in. A well-taken goal, and #20 for the Leeds striker. Manchester United 0, Leeds United 1

22 mins: Maelstrom in the Man U box as Argentine Luciano Becchio rises tallest for a free header that flies over the bar. Maybe could have done better. Rooney is furious, and rightly so; his team should have scored minutes before Leeds’ soft soft goal.

24 mins: ALMOST 1-1!!! Rooney breaks the offside trap down the right and lurches inevitably towards goal. His shot squirms under Ankergren and appears destined for the back of the net, but Jason Crowe slides in at the last-second and clears off the line. If only the Reds had a man tracking back on Beckford’s shot…

26 mins: Roll up, roll up Leeds players, as United are giving away free headers in the box. This time Bradley Johnson leaps a mile above a useless Gary Neville, but directs his header well over the bar. From 6 yards, he really should bury that. This second-string Man U backline is dreadful.

29 mins: Man United swing in a corner from the right, but Ankergren paws the cross away. Leeds don’t clear, and it comes back in for Rooney to shoot, but his curling effort is comfortably wide of the far post.

32 mins: Patrick Kisnorbo is unafraid of Dimitar Berbatov, though to be fair not many defenders in the EPL are these days either. The Bulgarian tries to elude the Australian on the right flank but is comfortably dispossessed before applying the coup de grace, a petulant kick from behind.

Rooney’s trying to do it all himself at the moment, buzzing around the box desperate to notch the equalizer. He feeds an unmarked Welbeck out on the left, but the young striker cuts back onto his right foot and drills a speculative shot well wide of goal. Not the best way to get back in Wayne’s good books, really.

36 mins: Wes Brown keeps the good times rolling, winning the game’s first Yellow Card for a sloppy trip on Becchio who’d finessed a passage to goal past the useless/apparently ginger defender.

38 mins: Deja vue from 32 mins as Rooney collects the ball at the edge of the box and feeds an unmarked Welbeck out on the left. This time, the striker cuts it back, but then the ball is sprayed wide for Gary Neville who can’t keep the ball in play. Bit rubbish, really.

40 mins: Mild panic for Leeds. Anderson swings in a corner from the right, but Ankergren comes out a mile but is blocked by his own defender and fails to get a punch on it. Nevermind; Jonny Evans put his header well wide of the far post anyway.

42 mins: Young Wesley B had better be careful. Already on a yellow card, he slides right through Bradley Johnson, leaving such a mess that the medical staff scuttle on to administer the magic spray. It was right in front of the ref, but there’s no second card. Why am I even surprised? This is Old Trafford!

44 mins: To sum up Manchester United’s half thus far; they break up the middle as Obertan gallops infield and upfield, but his pass wide to Welbeck is too much for the striker to control and it loops out for a Leeds throw-in. The sun is streaking across that corner of the pitch, but that’s hardly an excuse.

45 mins + 1: Yet another Man United attack concludes with a deep cross to no-one. The visiting fans are loving this, and, I must admit, so am I.

HALF TIME: Manchester United 0, Leeds United 1

A fair scoreline thus far. The visitors are defending stoutly and are unafraid to counter-attack, though Rooney will be irritated by his side’s profligacy in the attacking third. Far too many crosses are drifting harmlessly out of play, and the shooting has been dreadful. In a game of few clear-cut chances, Leeds United must be feeling good.

Back in 10 minutes! I must buy a Jupiter Jack in honour of the late Billy Mays. He would really want me to.

And we’re off again! The upset is in the offing, and we get a shot of Ryan Giggs warming up. I am surprised; surely he’s not going to replace Wes Brown AND Gary Neville?

52 mins: Sorry folks, my internet went down, and of course I miss all the fun. Wes Brown and Jonny Howson had a spot of handbags as the pair appeared to be competing to see who could commit the latest tackle. Then Danny Welbeck has a fine shot that is equally well-saved by Casper Ankergren.

55 mins: Wes Brown’s awesome day continues, as he nudges Jermaine Beckford to the turf as they tussle for a long ball.

Darron Gibson gets a Yellow Card for a hatchet job on Michael Doyle, and then Leeds captain Gary Naylor gets a Yellow Card for decimating Wayne Rooney. The relationship between “Upset Potential” and “Fouls Committed” is directly proportional, and so the longer Leeds hold on to their 1-0 lead, the more yellow cards we can expect to see brandished by Mr. Foy.

DOUBLE SUB FOR MANCHESTER UNITED: The ineffective wing duo of Danny Welbeck and Gabriel Obertan are replaced by Antonio Valencia and the ageless Ryan Giggs.

My next question is simple: how can Fergie replace both Brown and Neville with his remaining substitution? They’ve both been utterly dire today, and would struggle to secure a squad spot at Shrewsbury on this form.

62 mins: Will this scoreline hold? Ryan Giggs swings in a corner that Wes Brown can’t head towards goal. Michael Owen warms up. Part of me dies inside to remember that one of Liverpool’s best ever strikers is now a United squad member.

65 mins: Whoops – Rooney tries to muscle his way into the Leeds box and knocks the ball a touch too far in front of him, giving Fabio enough time to swoop in and try a first-time shot that bends and dips but never looks like troubling Ankergren. I don’t think Rooney’s intent was to give the young full-back a shot there.

Johnson forces a save from Kuszczak as he bends in a free-kick. Not too troubling, but still something for the young keeper to do. Since Beckford’s well-taken goal on 20 minutes, clear-cut scoring chances have been few and far between. Valencia looks for Rooney in the box but his cross is nodded away by the stoic, bandaged figure of Patrick Kisnorbo.

68 mins: Wes Brown has to get sent off soon. He does nothing but commit fouls, and I always thought that persistent fouling would yield a yellow card. Add that to the one he’s already got, and the game could be blissfully Brown-free, upping the quality of the game immensely.

70 mins: Manchester United come closest to equalizing! It’s a muddle, too; Owen and Rooney have a crack inside the box after some desperate defending by Leeds. Valencia’s cutback flummoxed the Leeds defenders and opened up room for a shot, but Jason Crowe was there again to complicate things and cause Rooney to shoot over the bar.

Michael Owen is on. I have no idea who he replaced. I think it was Dimitar Berbatov taking a seat on the bench?

Does anyone know what happened to the Bulgarian? He was a good player many moons ago.

SUB FOR MANCHESTER UNITED: Michael Owen scampers on, looking as joyful as a kid in a candy store. He replaces the useless Anderson.

75 mins: Manchester United have no trouble getting to the touchline, but their crossing has been dreadful. Fabio wastes all his energy getting there but floats his cross into Ankergren’s hands.

77 mins: Dear oh dear…. another chance fluffed by the home side. Berbatov, not subbed off as I thought, plays it wide for Valencia who gets separation as his marker falls over. The winger cuts it back for Rooney to shoot, but the tiny, angry man blasts it high over the bar. Frustration settles over the Old Trafford bench.

78 mins: And Beckford misses! The striker beats the offside trap on the counter attack and drills a shot juuuuust wide of Kuszczak’s far post. That should have sealed it, and the away side continue to press.

SUB FOR LEEDS UNITED: Howson off, Robert Snodgrass on.

79 mins: Jonny “Rapist” Evans hauls Beckford down after being beaten by the striker on the turn. Sloppy stuff. Free-kick for Leeds, 20 yards out and dead center…

Snodgrass hits the bar! Kuszczak was well beaten, too.

United break and Michael Owen begs for a penalty as he’s tripped at the edge of the box, but replays show he threw in a bit of a dive and the Merseyside-born ref Chris Foy, it must be noted, has the stones to wave away United’s protests. You can bet that Foy’s childhood in anti-United territory will become a Ferguson post-game rant should the scoreline hold. As a Scouser myself, I applaud Foy’s efforts to the max.

83 mins: It’s all back-and-forth stuff at the moment.

88 mins: My internet goes down again, but I don’t miss too much. Becchio is subbed off for Leeds, replaced by defender Lubomir Michalik. Ferguson must be furious as all the chances his team have wasted.

90 mins + 1: A bit of a scramble at the Leeds end as Ankergren comes way off his line to dispossess Michael Owen, but the move breaks down when Fabio’s cross back into the box is scooped clear.

LEEDS UNITED SUB: Hughes off, Aidan White on.

90 mins + 3: Rooney’s back in his own box to get possession and cue and attack. Giggs puts it in the area and after Leeds fail to clear, Rooney has a glorious chance to equalize. The ball came in from the right and Rooney’s first-time volley was goal-bound, but Ankergren makes a fantastic diving reflext stop. It falls to Fabio’s feet, but there are three Leeds defenders there plus Ankergren and the ball stays out! Gibson shoots from distance and it’s deflected behind, but from the corner, Rooney scuffs a shot well wide of goal. Leeds fan breathe a gigantic sigh of relief.

FULL TIME: Manchester United 0, Leeds United 1
Some heart-in-mouth moments in the second half for the visitors, but Simon Grayson’s side deservedly take the win and move onto the fourth round. Leeds, some 42 places behind their cross-Pennines rivals, score the big upset thanks to Beckford’s well-taken goal midway through the first half.

Thanks for following along!