I made the long trip to Bolton on Tuesday evening with the Thames Valley Whites has Leeds extended their unbeaten run with a 2-2 draw.
Kenny 7
He made a couple of really good saves and he could do very little with either goal.
Peltier 4
He was run ragged in the first half by Chris Eagles. He continuously got done on the inside by Eagles and I was surprised Warnock didn`t take him off once he was booked. I also felt he could have cleared the ball rather than knocking it behind for a corner that led to the equaliser.
Lees 7
The Lees and Pearce partnership is growing all the time and the pair were solid at the heart of the Leeds defence.
Pearce 7
Like Lees, another solid performance and both did their jobs in the Leeds defence. Neither were responsible for marking Kevin Davies for the two goals. Maybe one of them should have been.
Drury 6
A little off the pace. He is a no frills defender and goes unnoticed for much of the game.
Tonge 5
A very quiet game and he rarely got into it.
Austin 5
His poorest performance in a Leeds shirt so far. His commanding midfield presence was nowhere to be seen. Austin was responsible for marking Davies for both goals and he was easily brushed off for both.
Brown 6
He tried his best but most of the time the game went on around him. The customary yellow card for Brown, although I am not sure he did anything wrong.
Byram 8 Man of the match
Leeds best player by a country mile. He came close to scoring just before he equalised and it was his good run that led to the penalty. He is mature beyond his years and he looks a natural in many positions for Leeds. I hope he can last the season.
Diouf 7
He tried his hardest to orchestrate for Leeds but it was hard with so many having off days. He also clinched the points for Leeds in the dying seconds when his shot hit the bar.
Becchio 5
He never got into the game and he wasn`t given a sniff by the two big Bolton centre backs. He did score from the penalty spot for Leeds but he has struggled in the last two games for Leeds and I think he needs the international break more than most.
Summary
I would have taken a point before the game and after the first thirty minutes I would have been delighted with a point.
Bolton ripped us apart for half hour and could have quite easily have been three or four ahead. I think the big difference now is, twelve months ago, we would have been three or four down.
We hung on, battled and eventually grew into the game. In the end, I was a little bit disappointed to only earn a point.
I could not understand for the second game in a row why Becchio wasn`t replaced. On Saturday, he was taken off in injury time and last night Warnock did not make a change. Becchio was struggling and maybe a fresh pair of legs in Andy Gray would have been a good move.
As always a huge well done to the 4,000 travelling Leeds fans, for turning out on a miserable night. I also enjoyed the banter with the Bolton fans to our right. Nice to see a home crowd actually making for a bit of atmosphere.
A message to Bolton Wanderers – Sort out your car park. Took over one hour to even move, let alone get out of the car park. In the end, a bit of initiative from Steve who was driving the bus got us away whilst others sat there waiting. He turned round and used a Police exit, despite the jobs worth stewards not wanting us to get out.
I finish with the referee Phil Dowd. Premier League referee – You are having a laugh!
Totally inept for 90 minutes. He got so many decisions wrong and if I am being totally honest, the penalty decision was also a poor one.
I think they should leave the Premier League referees in the Premier League.
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