10 man Leeds reach play-offs
Full-time: Yeovil Town 0 v 1 Leeds United
Despite the second-half dismissal of left-back Alan Sheehan, Leeds United created history at Huish Park tonight in front of a record crowd.
Although the Football League colluded with the police and Yeovil Town to try and prevent Leeds United bringing its usual contingent of thousands of supporters, more than 9500 fans packed the ground to see the League One fixture and beat the previous record set in 2004 for an FA Cup tie against Liverpool.
The ten man victory was well deserved with Leeds missing a hat full of chances and Yeovil limited to a couple of good attempts on the night. The three points means that Brighton cannot catch Leeds and United are, therefore, in the League One play-offs. Leeds are the only team to escape relegation in a season where they have been deducted ten points - a fact that was not lost on the Football League or the fellow League clubs when they voted to impose a 15 point penalty on Leeds at the start of the season. Humble pie anyone?
Gary McAllister’s masterstroke, the signing of Dougie Freedman, paid an early dividend at Huish Park this evening when the Scottish striker gave Leeds an early goal. It took just four minutes for Leeds to go ahead of Yeovil.
The win guarantees Leeds United a play-off place, irrespective of the outcome of the arbitration hearing. It also means Swansea City cannot be certain of being League One Champions by winning tomorrow - in the unlikely event of Leeds getting all 15 points back Swansea would need to win all their final games to be Champions. Swansea have spent much of the week bleating about how unfair the 15 point arbitration hearing is and with their stuttering home form one begins to wonder whether their squad have bottled it and will have to rely on Leeds not getting the 15 points back to be crowned champions? No wonder the Football League chose not to present them with the League One trophy tomorrow - possibly the first thing Mawhinney has got right all season.
Now the Leeds players can deservedly look forward to a congratulatory final home game of the season against Gillingham in front of a sell-out 39,000 crowd at Elland Road. Gillingham have never played in front of a league crowd of over 35000 in their history - so they should enjoy their day with the Leeds fans in full hue and cry celebrating the achievements of their players on the pitch. I wonder if Mawhinney will be there to congratulate Leeds United on their remarkable season?
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