Leeds Utd 2 Barnsley 2: Wise fury over video nasty
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Your support makes all the difference.There are times in football when you have to ignore the quality and revel in the entertainment. Purists may have been retching but, in its own way, this was a minor epic, albeit one with the distinct whiff of the car crash about it. Almost inevitably, it ended in controversy, with Dennis Wise, the Leeds manager, furious at the disallowing of a Matt Heath header 20 minutes from time.
The defender certainly did nothing wrong as he met Ian Westlake's near-post corner, but the linesman Karl Evans flagged, having apparently seen Ian Moore impede Nick Colgan, the goalkeeper. "I don't know what he's seen," said Wise after showing the officials a video of the incident. "He doesn't know what he's seen. I'm disappointed he can't turn round and admit he's made a mistake. It hurts."
Maybe it does, particularly as Eddie Lewis hit a post, but a win would have flattered Leeds. Mistakes littered the game like confetti but, between the petals, danced Daniel Nardiello. The 24-year-old former Manchester United trainee had not scored for Barnsley since the play-off final last year but he was superb yesterday, scoring two goals, almost setting up two others and embarrassing Leeds' back four.
Only three minutes had gone when Nardiello gathered the ball on the left side of the box, ghosted like a shaven-headed will-o'-the-wisp past the challenges of Jonathan Douglas and Ugo Ehiogu, and whipped his finish firmly into the bottom corner. That was half the defence humiliated, and Nardiello ticked the other two off his list nine minutes before half-time, racing down the right, shaping to cross, and then shimmying inside Stephen Crainey and Heath before tucking the ball inside the far post.
Fortunately for Leeds, Barnsley are a side of almost equal inadequacy at the back. Coaches always insist on the importance of getting height on clearances, but the aspect of distance is not entirely irrelevant. Neil Austin met Douglas' eighth-minute cross with a firm header, which gave his side some respite - until it came down on Tresor Kandol's head, eight yards from goal. With Colgan tripping over Paul Reid, the forward marked his first start for the club with a simple goal.
Ehiogu at least had to beat the goalkeeper for Leeds' second equaliser, but he too was unchallenged as Shaun Derry headed Lewis' cross back across the box. All rather messy, but it was a lot of fun.
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