Leeds United v Middlesbrough

Wednesday 14th August 2024 - Elland Road, Leeds

2024/25 Carabao Cup Round 1

It was lovely to see a sea of yellow around Elland Road with the new away shirt worn by plenty including many children. Today’s last pre-season friendly was an opportunity for many fans to bring young children to their first game.

Team: Darlow, Ampadu, Firpo, Gelhardt, Bamford, Rothwell, Piroe, Byram, Rodon, Aaronson, Wöber

Subs:  Rutter > Aaronson, Bogle > Firpo, Gnonto > Gelhardt, Gruev > Byram, Struijk > Wöber mass substitution (63)

Subs not used:  Meslier, James, Crew, Joseph

Leeds lost the game 3-0

Attendance:  35,150 with around 4,000 Boro fans

Referee:  Anthony Backhouse

Booked: Bryam, Firpo, Struijk

After having a challenging week with visits to a&e with my husband, things took a turn for the worse on Sunday morning when I found him collapsed in the shower and had to dial 999. Later an MRI showed that he had suffered a stroke. Luckily, he hasn’t suffered many side effects and looking for better news when we see the oncologist tomorrow for his latest scan results.

I was later setting off than intended having been to the hospital, leaving home after having an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live alongside a Middlesbrough fan. It was mentioned that he was a lot more optimistic than I was, but I was a bit down anyway. I said I had been sent on a downward spiral with Archie being sold then us fans being told we were not welcome in Germany before my family matters took over. I also felt that we may have more players going too.  All I will do as usual is make my observations from what I see happening on the pitch.

Having a great trip across to Leeds it took me twice as long to get off the M621 at Elland Road. What a farce it was with queues building up as the traffic lights let a couple of cars through before changing, plus traffic was at a standstill. Eventually police turned up, but they still didn’t make any difference with at least half a dozen of them as I pulled off the roundabout. Seriously though, it needs sorting.

There isn’t too much I can say about tonight’s performance but there wasn’t a lot to be positive about. In the first half we suddenly had one touch passing which was great but then reverted to type. With it being 0-0 at half time, the second half became one way traffic from Boro once they had taken the lead. Their player cut in from the right towards the south stand and just ran through all our players before unleashing a shot into the goal. They got a second before we even contemplated any subs, but we could see we needed changes. With five subs brought on at once, we were astounded that one wasn’t kept back as Darlow received lengthy treatment before resuming. If he’d have gone off, we would have been down to 10 men but luckily, he stayed on the pitch.

Boro showed they were head and shoulders above us on the night and deserved their victory. With fans leaving in droves after plenty of boos were heard, it could turn toxic very easily.

As for us, it feels like there is a lot going on in the background, which turned out to be the case when news came through that Rutter could be the next one out of the door. Instead of building our team to ensure we go up automatically, we have desecrated it, and I honestly have no idea of how bad things are going to get now. The hope is diminishing rapidly which will only improve if we start to do well in league games. Now, only time will tell sadly.

LUFC – Marching on Together!