2014/15: Capital One (League) Cup – Leeds United v Accrington Stanley
Arriving at the ground an hour before kick-off with the intention of grabbing a pint and having a leisurely read of the match programme, I was greeted by the sight of the East Stand turnstiles not open and people stood outside in the rain. There were puzzled looks all-round as time ticked closer to the 19:45 start with the gates still locked and no communication as to what was happening. Then just before 19:00 some turnstiles were opened, although no explanation was forthcoming as to what the problem was. But hey why should that happen, we’re just the paying customers…
Having lost their opening Championship fixture to Millwall, Leeds made a number of changes with Stuart Taylor, Lewis Cook, Gaetano Berardi, Tommaso Bianchi and Matt Smith coming into the starting eleven. Like their hosts, Stanley also lost their opening day fixture, 1-0 to Southend United and manager James Beattie made two changes to the team with Jordan Mustoe and James Alabi coming into the side.
The game was effectively over by half-time with two excellent finishes from Leeds new boy Souleymane Doukara. The Championship side played some neat passing football and dominated their League Two opponents. However, there were times that Leeds looked less than composed at the back and in midfield Bianchi was often wasteful with his distribution. The second-half was a pretty ordinary affair and it wasn’t until Accrington pulled a goal back on eighty four minutes that the game came to life. More drama came just before the end of normal time when Gaetano Berardi was sent-off for a poor challenge and meant it was an anxious last five minutes of time added-on.
So no banana skins for Leeds, instead a first competitive win for Head Coach Dave Hockaday and progress to the Second Round. However, the faithful at Elland Road will be more concerned about collecting Championship points, starting with a win against Middlesbrough this Saturday. Oh and hopefully the gates will be open on time…