vs AC Milan - Saturday 9th August 2025

August 13, 2025

Pre-season 2025-26 Dublin, Republic of Ireland

Leeds United vs AC Milan

9th August 2025

The last of our preseason games was taking place in Dublin and I booked to travel with South Kirkby Supporters Club again. Getting up at 5am to travel to Leeds in plenty of time to catch the coach that was taking us over the Pennines to catch the plane to Dublin all fell into place with no issues. We arrived at our hotel the Skylon and most of us were allowed to book in at 2.30pm so after a quick cup of tea, I was on a bus heading down to the Camden Sports Bar. This was going to be the focal point as I was meeting friends there but also Gerry who I have known for many years had arranged a great welcome for Leeds fans there. It was great catching up with lots of fans there and as usual included a lot of photos. I decided to head back to the hotel around 9pm as the long day was starting to catch up with me and went to look for the number 16 bus. There was a sign outside the hotel with that bus number on, but the security guard said the bus wouldn’t stop there so I set off walking the way I’d come earlier but the opposite way to where I’d been dropped off. After bumping into the Shropshire Whites in the middle of the road, I carried on to the next stop but there was no sign of the bus number on show, so I panicked a bit and headed back the way I came. Luckily, I bumped into Alan one of our Irish fans so turned around and went to the next bus stop along which was the right one to catch the bus. That was a relief and thank you for the help.


After an early breakfast I headed off to the Camden bright and early at 9am on the day of the game even though it didn’t open until 10am. As the bus had taken ages the day before I expected the same but was down there very quickly so at 9.30am was queuing up and started taking photos of my flag and fans. There were big queues forming before the doors opened so got to the front to join Gerry and others and stayed there once it had opened. What can I say about the Camden but what an experience we were given. When Noel Whelan and Dominic Mateo arrived at 11am the massive screen at the front and all the tv screens around the edges had Leeds badges on them. The music with the DJ in control playing Leeds songs too made the atmosphere electric. It was packed out in there and the music had my feet tapping away giving off a holiday vibe where I wanted to jump onto the dance floor not that there was any room. I’ve never been a good dancer, so I’d have only been as stiff as a board but being in the company of Leeds supporters, we have that unique bond of following our team, and it was what being Leeds is all about. In fact, I nearly forgot we’d a football game to go to but eventually my friend Arnie and I went to get a taxi to the ground. We managed to catch one outside the Camden very quickly and as we headed to the ground, we were warned to beware of pickpockets as they were rife in Dublin. A woman on the bus on Friday who sat next to me said it wasn’t what it used to be there, so it wasn’t a surprise to hear some of our fans had found that out the hard way.


The turnstiles hadn’t opened when we got to the ground but after catching up with some of our fans and watching some drummers where I assumed the players would be arriving as crowds had gathered there, we went in as soon as the gates opened. Just then the sun came out and it was going to be very hot so after hanging my flag up at the back of the stand I was glad we were going to be sat in the shade near the back. The only issue I had sat at the back meant that I had to keep getting up and down with the crowd which played havoc with my knees!


Team: Perri, Ampadu, Rodon, Schmidt, Gnonto, Piroe, Struijk, Gudmundsson, James, Stach, Tanaka

Subs: Darlow for Perri (46), Gruev for Ampadu (67), Longstaff for Tanaka (67), Aaronson for James (67), Nmecha for Piroe (67), Byram for Schmidt (67), Bijol for Struijk (75), Harrison for Gudmundsson (75), Ramazani for Gnonto (75), Gray for Stach (89)

Subs not used: Cairns and Chadwick


Leeds drew the game 1-1 with a fantastic strike from Stach equalising for Leeds (68)


Attendance: A 51,711 sold out Aviva Stadium with most fans being Leeds and a smattering of AC Milan fans showed what incredible support we have in Ireland as well as a large contingent who had travelled there from the mainland and further afield. One lad had travelled from Thailand for the game, and I met some from Bergen, Norway who I hadn’t seen in a while too


Referee: Paul McLaughlin

Booked: Stach


As the team kicked off, it was thought that this would be our line up against Everton. We started off well and Stack had a shot come back off the crossbar, but AC Milan showed us what we are facing in the Premier League with going down easily. They scored after half an hour when they won a free kick with many saying it shouldn’t have been given in the first place. The game hadn’t set the place alight so far and at this point I felt so tired after my 5am start the day before, that I could have fallen asleep. AC Milan kept attacking down the left wing and that’s when I thought I may have to change my thoughts on where we would end up the following season. I have said that we won’t get relegated as far as I was concerned and although we won’t be challenging for promotion thought we’d do ok and decided we’d be 11th at the end of the season. The performance in the first half made me think that was a pie in the sky moment and 15th would be a more accurate prediction. Stach remained our most dangerous player bringing a save out of their keeper as we went into the break a goal down.


The second half saw Darlow come on to replace Perri as Leeds started on the attack with Piroe’s shot going past the wrong side of the post. The game changed for the better once our first lot of subs were made and had an instant impact when Stach hit a fantastic shot from our side of the pitch into the bottom right-hand corner of the goal. What a strike that was and good to see us get back on level terms. When all the subs were on you could see that there would be tweaks to the lineup for our first Premier League game against Everton on Monday, as there was a definite difference on the pitch when they were made. As the last of the friendly games finished in a 1-1 draw, we remained unbeaten and had a following of at least 50,000 Leeds fans in the sold-out stadium. Seeing Leeds colours of blue, yellow and white everywhere was a sight to behold and it looked so much better than seeing all that red in the ground in Stockholm although our end there was sold out for us.


When Harrison came onto the pitch he was met with a lot of boos around the stadium. After being one of the players who activated the relegation clause in his contract, I know a lot of fans are still very angry about it plus his mother’s comments on social media at the time have not been forgotten. I’ll be honest I didn’t want any of those players back in the team but have had to accept some of those back like Aaronson. As far as I’m concerned once Farke decided he was going to use these players, they had to prove themselves on the pitch and play for the shirt. Only by actions of playing well would they get back into the good books of fans and as always, I always make my decisions by what I see on the pitch. Harrison put a lot of effort into the warming up before the game in front of me, interacted with fans at the side of the pitch and at half time signed autographs. When he came on for Schmidt, I thought he played well at left back and in my opinion looked better than Schmidt who was caught out a few times in the first half. He did a lone lap of the pitch at the end clapping the fans before Farke had a chat with him. Some Leeds fans had nearly come to blows when the booing happened but as I always say, you will never get everyone to agree to the same thing, so we have to agree to disagree.


A big shout out to our fans who had to overcome severe travel issues to the game when Aer Lingus cancelled flights from Edinburgh, Bristol and manchester to name a few. Some relocated to Luton and others tried to get to a new flight at Liverpool only to find that cancelled too once they had booked a train there. The latter eventually flew out at 12pm before the game, had to dump their cases at the airport to get to the game on time. Sadly, their two nights in their hotel were not used as they had to go straight back to the airport for their flight home. The sacrifices our fans make to attend games cannot be underestimated.


If I could bottle up the number of fans who said I was a legend whilst I was in Dublin it would be constantly overflowing. It is very humbling but to know that everything I do is greatly appreciated by our fans, it is the reason that I do what I do, sharing the love of supporting Leeds United with fans around the world. The selfies taken by others as well as the very many I have taken had my friend Arnie saying that he was going to start charging £10 for each one I asked him to take; this shows what fantastic fans we have, and it’s been a privilege meeting so many of you. I’m a walking advert for our club as I love wearing my colours and am comfortable in my second skin so to speak and the fact that wherever you go, there’s a Leeds United fan not far away has never been more apt than whilst we have been in Dublin. Fans approaching me or me being able to talk to or join up with others at a drop of a hat, is a priceless commodity and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Keep the faith and I look forward to catching up with many of our fans throughout the season.

Our flight home at the airport was delayed by 90 minutes but then we had the fun of musical gate numbers being changed four times before bingo being able to board. Even that last one was shrouded in mystery because they shouted the wrong gate number for us to board causing confusion, so we had to ignore that one! It was a quick flight home and very smooth and we went straight through customs with no passport checks. The only issue we had on the M62 was delays around Huddersfield so had a detour to Ainley top and got back to Leeds avoiding most of the hold up. If my car hadn’t been in Leeds, I could have been dropped off there! It has been a brilliant trip and being away from everything is a good way of getting through things. I was coming back to my birthday the next day and the anniversary of finding my husband collapsed in the shower. As soon as I drove onto my street, that was it the tears started to flow but I was able to have cuddles with my dog Mollie when I got in. Luckily the next morning I didn’t “see” my husband in the bottom of the shower when I went into the bathroom as I have done many of times since.


I can’t thank people enough for the good wishes sent for my birthday which was spent by doing two aquafit sessions in the morning with 10 lengths in between before going out for lunch with a friend. My family all came around to see me during the afternoon and evening although my grandson wasn’t a very happy lad and wouldn’t sing to me. As it’s my big party on Saturday which I’m looking forward to preparing for and meeting up with family and friends, they did bring me a couple of buns, one with a Leeds badge on it and candles with 69 + 1 which I said means 35!!! Well, I’ve pretended to be that age for so long that I’ll continue to do the same as it keeps me young in the head even if my body is telling me to get lost and two of my children are “older” than I am! The good thing is, that I am privileged to have been there to see the greatest team ever under Don Revie and my hero Billy Bremner. The loyalty and friendships built up ever since then are evident to this day and I wouldn’t change it for the world. Thank you to Mick and Alex for sorting out the trip for me which took away all the stress and look forward to going on the next trip with you.


LUFC – Marching on Together!


August 3, 2025
Leeds United v Villareal Saturday 2nd August 2025 - Elland Road 2024/25 Season - Pre-season Friendly. With our only home preseason game taking place today against Villareal, we arrived at Elland Road after a trip to Castleford Junction 32 outlet first. It was a family affair today with my eldest daughter, three eldest granddaughters and my grandson attending with me and by the time we had parked up and walked to Billy’s statue, there were still thousands of fans making their way to the ground. We only waited at the statue for a few minutes as we wanted to get into the ground and with so many fans still outside the turnstiles with 30 minutes to go to kick off, it was obvious there were going to be queues. I wasn’t wrong either as it took us until just before kick-off to get into the ground. With so many still to get in I wondered whether there would be a delay to kick off as there was in Stockholm, but it never happened so I’m sure some will have missed the start of the game. Team: Darlow, Ampadu (captain), Rodon, Gudmundsson, Aaronson, Schmidt, Gnonto, Nmecha, Stach, Longstaff, Struijk. Subs: Meslier for Darlow (46), Bijol for Struijk (46), Gruev for Longstaff (46), Piroe for Nmecha (46), Byram for Schmidt (63), Tanaka for Stach (63), Ramazani for Gnonto (63), Gray for Aaronson (81). Subs not used: Cairns, Crew, Chadwick. Leeds drew the game 1-1 with Piroe equalising for Leeds five minutes after Villareal had taken the lead (67). Attendance: 35,273. Unsure whether any away fans attended as I never saw any outside the ground. Referee: Sam Barrott. Another signing we have made is: 27-year-old Brazilian Lucas Perri, a keeper signed from French side Lyon on a four-year deal. I wasn’t in my usual season ticket seat due to bringing family with and instead were four rows from the front. At first, we thought we were going to have the sun blazing down on us but luckily soon found ourselves in the shade. It was a beautiful day for our first game back as the teams came out onto the pitch with the fans singing marching on together a bit further down the pecking order. With being back in the Premier League, we must play their anthem first as we come out onto the pitch. Leeds looked lively at the start of the game with Nmecha put through with a great ball out of defence with his shot easily saved by their keeper. We were up against a strong team who nearly took the lead but were denied by Darlow. We did put on some impressive passing displays which were good to see. Struijk put the ball out for a corner as Darlow had a man bearing down on him and he had to make sure their man didn’t get to the ball first. There were quite a few strong tackles going in on our players, but we did have some and it’s a good job one from Rodon didn’t connect. It looked like two dying swans when two of their players ended up on the floor although I’m sure they collided with each other rather than a foul from us. No doubt someone will put me right on that. Aaronson put pressure on their player in the penalty area who cleared the ball to Schmidt which gave Nmecha a chance to shoot low and hard which the keeper pushed along the line. Stach made a tackle in the penalty area which had their player claiming for a foul, but it was greatly timed although their player stayed on the floor. We were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty as Gudmundsson had his back leg taken from underneath him, but we played on eventually being awarded a free kick on the left-hand side after another foul on Gnonto. A great cross into the middle by Stach missed everyone but it had some power in it. Villareal with a counterattack saw a fantastic header saved by Darlow as the scores were evens as we went in for the break. Trying to get downstairs at half time was a nightmare as no one seemed to move as it was that packed, and I can’t say I’ve ever had that problem before. We caught up with friends before heading back to our seats for the start of the second half. We made four changes with Bijol getting involved making a crucial tackle as Villareal came out strongly. They had another attack as the cross from the byline was met with a header. Meslier made a great save onto the bar, but the rebound fell to their player who was the first to react to put the ball into the net. We had been looking to make changes at that point, but you could tell the difference once Tanaka came on. It looked like Aaronson had lost the ball, but he kept going, put the cross in which was cleared straight to Piroe who put a close range shot into the net to equalise. Ramazani saw a shot saved by their keeper then Gray saw his header tipped over the bar, but it was flagged offside anyway. Whilst in many ways it was a typical preseason friendly, the score stayed at 1-1 at the final whistle. Hopefully there won’t be any lasting effects as Gudmundsson was on the end of a few of the fouls, requiring lengthy treatment for one of them. With one of the ladies’ loos already out of action at the start of the game due to a broken handle, I was able to report it at the end of the game so fingers crossed that gets remedied before the home game against Everton. I’ll admit to taking a bit of a back seat this week as the 23rd would have been my wedding anniversary. I was due to go to a funeral for one of the Kippax lads on Monday then couldn’t face it as I also had an extended family one yesterday plus a death this week. My thoughts go out to John Redmond one of our Irish Whites who is facing a big battle at this moment in time, and I was honoured to be asked to do a video for him wishing him well. With my big birthday coming up on my return from Dublin, it is also the first anniversary of finding my husband collapsed in the shower and the start of his downfall, so the emotions have been going haywire with plenty of ups and downs. I was thankful that my family were able to have a photo with his stone in front of the Pavilion before the game. I also delayed my blog from Sweden as I was hoping to have everything on one link on my website as there was so much to post but sadly there has been a delay. I will continue to post that in stages during the week as there are so many photos to share of a great trip. With the last of the preseason games taking place next week in Dublin with a near sell out 52,000 crowd against AC Milan, I’m looking forward to catching up with many of our fans there. See you there, LUFC – Marching on Together!
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