Printer-friendly pageSaturday, November 18, 2006
Leeds are near the foot of the table and under new management, but the conventional wisdom that Southampton fail to deliver in such circumstances did not prove true.
However, the team did not have it so easy as at Sunderland and should have gone behind early on after attention was maybe diverted by a linesman's mistake. Nevertheless, Rasiak reacted well to Surman's touch and sent a header looping over Stack for a lead on the half hour.
The advantage was tested at the start of the second half, especially when Lewis sent a free kick close to the angle of post and bar. But then Saints introduced Viafara and didn't look back from that point on. It was from Viafara's cross that Skacel doubled the lead; his miss at Colchester must have flashed before him, but this time he shot high into a net unguarded by the 'keeper.
Leeds' fragile defence is the reason for their poor league form, and Rasiak was somehow left unmarked when he headed home from a corner (left).
Fifteen minutes remained to exorcise a few ghosts. As the impetus was with Southampton, there was clearly to be no repeat of the fiasco when Leeds scored 4 late goals at St. Mary's last year but older fans would have delighted in the way a string of passes was cheered by visiting fans. It was a reminder of how Leeds took the p*ss on and off the pitch in that 7 goal thrashing 30-odd years ago.
Man of the Match: Gareth Bale. The majority of our small travelling band voted (narrowly) for Rasiak but I've decided this isn't a democracy any more. Have your say on the website Forum!
