Game has The Lot

Leeds United U23 3 v Sheffield United U23 4

U23 Professional Development League, North

Played at Thorp Arch

Monday 6 February 2017

Twitter @ball_sup

Enjoyed that. Two nil down. Four two up. Third in the table. Six unbeaten in the league. Four yellow cards from one melee. Red card. Binnion spoken to at length by the Ref. Wounded player taken away on the golf cart. Had the lot.

United started very brightly & looked by far the better side. Leeds were physically strong. And came more & more into it. I'm going to say - against the run of play, Leeds crafted two lovely goals in the first half.

The Blades set up with Semple in the middle of three with Wilson & Kelly. But, Semple got clattered over on our left. He was down for a while. Eventually, he was sat on the golf cart & bussed the long way back to the Rooms. I saw him limping gingerly down to the touchline at the start of the second half. No stick or boot or ice. So, it might not be too bad.

That wing back/midfield set up is looking better every game. Bennett & Mallon out wide. Reed & Slater doing the fetching & carrying. Brooks putting more & more of a shift in. Brooks a constant attacking threat. Cuts in. Slater covers so much ground, he's an attacking threat an’ all. Smith & Wright lively & bang at it up top. Everyone pressing. Everyone tracking. Great stuff.

Bookings agogo in the first half. Jake Wright got up off the floor. Said a bit. Pointed a bit. Strutted a bit. Everyone has piled in. I noticed Brooks & Mallon up to no good in the ruck. Dust settles. Two bookings each side. None of them Wright.

Later on in the first half a robust challenge on Reed. Second yellow card for the West Yorkshireist. There was even time for Travis to lose the plot over a disputed corner. But, you don't need to read that here. Those living in South Yorkshire will have been able to fucking hear him. Loud voice, the fella.

Anyway, The Blades came on strongly against the 10 men. Lovely runs with the ball at feet, dinky and/or accurate finishes from Wright, Tyler Smith & Brooks. Plus a text book far post header from Wilson. Job done. Huddersfield U23 won at Crewe. That allowed us to leapfrog Crewe into third place. Still a long way behind Hull & Sheffield Wednesday. Although, we have some games in hand. Playing well. Bit of a streak going, Climbing the league.

Sixpoint Brewing, Make It Rain on cask at 5%. Apples & citrus swirling in the smell. Smells rich. First gulp feels Hop Forward. Quite thin, but refreshing. One of 'spoons International Craft Brewers Showcase beers, brewed at Adnams. It's correctly all about the Bitter. Grows & grows into a long long finish. That's what a 5% cask beer is supposed to taste like.

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