Leeds leave it late against Blades

Leeds United moved back into the Play off places with a hard fought 1-0 local derby win over Sheffield United.

In a game that was never given a chance to get going due to an inept refereeing performance, it looked to be heading for a goalless draw when Bradley Johnson scored the only goal of the game with six minutes remaining.

Leeds boss Simon Grayson made three changes from the side that drew with Doncaster Rovers last week, including handing a debut to on loan defender George McCartney.

In a game of very few chances, Leeds had to wait until halfway through the half before finding any momentum.

Max Gradel`s ball into the middle was just missed by Lloyd Sam and then Bradley Johnson had the best chance of the half when Simonsen kept out his header at full stretch.

Leeds thought they had won a penalty close to half time when the referee looked to have awarded them a penalty for handball inside the area but the linesman rightly told him that it was Bradley Johnson who had handled the ball.

Sheffield United had to wait until almost half time when Stephen Quinn saw his free kick saved by Shane Higgs.

George McCartney had a decent chance on the stroke of half time for Leeds but lifted his shot just over the bar.

If the first half was poor, the second was worse, Leeds couldn`t find a way past the Sheffield midfield and the visitors looked the better side as the half wore on without ever looking like scoring.

Simon Grayson started to make changes, Snodgrass came on with an hour gone for Lloyd Sam and immediately looked lively.

It wasn`t long before he found himself in the book for kicking the ball away. Within minutes, Leeds players and fans were left infuriated when the referee failed to punish a Sheffield player for doing the same.

Leeds scored the all important goal with just six minutes remaining, a Sheffield defender missed the ball on the half way line which allowed Snodgrass in behind the defenders. It looked like he`d wasted the chance but after some good work he cut the ball back into the middle for Johnson to score.

Snodgrass continued to be the centre of attention after he had come on and he was shown his second yellow card of the afternoon for a block on a Sheffield player.

Sheffield really should have equalised deep into stoppage time when Ertl saw his header hit the bar and with Higgs stranded on the ground the follow up header was soft enough that he had time to get up and claim the ball.

There was still time for Sheffield United player Jamie Ward to receive a red card when he was sent off for a late tackle on Neil Kilkenny.

A very poor game but the three points are the most important thing. Leeds will play much better this season and come away pointless.

The win sees Leeds return into the Play off positions and they can now look forward to another home game against Preston North End on Tuesday.

Teams

Leeds
Higgs, Hughes, Collins, Bruce, McCartney, Howson, Johnson, Gradel (Kilkenny 72), Somma (McCormack 77), Becchio, Sam (Snodgrass 60)

Subs not used
Brown, Naylor, Faye, Watt

Sheff United
Simonsen, Jordan, Calve, Ertl, Nosworthy, Bartley, Britton, Montgomery, Quinn (Ward 59), Cresswell, Evans (Yeates 81)

Subs not used
Wright, De Laet, Bogdanovic, Lowton, Taylor

Attendance: 33,622

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