Blues 2 - Leeds United 1
Last updated : 16 September 2003 By Richard Barker
Stunning strikes from Paul Devlin and Damien Johnson sandwiched a Lee Bowyer goal for the visitors to cap off a magnificent early afternoon for Steve Bruce's men.
Bruce once again opted for a 4-4-2 formation, with Jeff Kenna starting at right back, and the previously suspended Devlin coming into the team at the expense of Bryan Hughes. Devlin took up his customary right wing role, with Damien Johnson switching to the left. £4.5 million striker Clinton Morrison made his full debut, coming in for Geoff Horsfield.
Blues started the game impressively, playing some sweeping football, without really testing Paul Robinson in the Leeds goal. Morrison showed a variety of neat touches, and appeared to link up well with Stern John. Leeds were struggling to make any impact on the game, with Robbie Savage and Aliou Cisse winning the midfield battle against Eirik Bakke and Lee Bowyer.
Blues' possession finally told on the half hour mark. A well worked corner between Martin Grainger and Damien Johnson found it's way to Devlin some 20 yards out. Devlin hit a magnificent low drive that flew through the crowded penalty area and nestled in Robinson's right hand corner. St Andrews erupted as Blues celebrated their first Premiership goal at home, and their first from open play.
This served as a wake up call to Leeds' players following their lacklustre opening to the game, and they got into the game more so prior to the interval. Mark Viduka hit the post when better placed to score, and Harry Kewell also rattled Nico Vaesen's crossbar with a rising right foot drive. Bakke also had a goal ruled out for offside. Still, as Paul Durkin's whistle sounded for half time, Blues had a 1-0 advantage, and thoroughly deserved it.
Leeds upped the tempo somewhat in the second half, and were back on level terms within 5 minutes. Blues sat back too much, and though Bowyer looked suspiciously offside when put through by Viduka, he was able to finish in typical Bowyer fashion - lifting the ball over Vaesen to make it 1-1.
Rather then appearing shell-shocked, this brought the best out of Blues, who were forced to attack their opponents once again. After 58 minutes the home side were back in front, thanks to a superb Damien Johnson strike. Johnson picked up the ball on the left touch line, and ran at the Leeds goal. He played a neat one-two with Morrison, before unleashing a sublime, curling right foot shot that looped beyond Robinson into the far corner. It was the kind of goal I used to tune into 'The Premiership' to watch last season...
Unlike the midweek disaster at Everton, Blues seemed a lot more comfortable in holding their lead. Leeds did create further chances, but Kewell was wasteful, and Viduka and Alan Smith just didn't appear to be at the races. Horsfield, Hughes and Stan Lazaridis all played their part in helping Blues play out time, but it was Cisse and Savage who really stole the show.
Cisse was immense in the heart of midfield. At times he was making last ditch challenges, before seconds later, being our furthest man forward. No wonder he has already become a hero to Blues fans, who sang his name at the full time whistle in recognition of his awesome performance. He must already be worth 4 or 5 times the measly £1.5 million we paid for him. Savage too was magnificent, using controlled (yes, controlled!) aggression to pester Leeds players all over the park. To suggest that this is his only attribute though would be totally unfair, as he can play some excellent football too - except on one occasion when he fluffed a good opportunity following some great play by John.
A superb Blues performance saw our first 3 points of the season. If the players are able to consistently reach the levels that they reached today, then relegation fears can be brushed aside now. However, that is the challenge that Steve Bruce faces - keeping levels of performances this high. Everyone at St Andrews today (including Bryan Robson sitting in the seats reserved for Bruce's guests) would have been impressed not only by the spirit amongst the Blues players, but also the fact that they can play a bit of football too.
It doesn't get any easier now though. It's Liverpool at Anfield next...
PLAYER RATINGS:
Vaesen - Shaky first half, got better
Kenna - Excellent
Grainger - Adapting to life in the top flight well
Purse - A defensive rock, outstanding
Cunnigham - Quiet, but solid. Never put a foot wrong. Very good.
Devlin - Added pace to our attacking, scared Ian Harte to death
Johnson, D - Great performance again - even better goal
Cisse - Awesome, sheer strength, power and skill
Savage - Magnificent, gave 110%
John - Quietly effective
Morrison - Showed nice touches
SUBS:
Horsfield - Never got into the game
Hughes - Ditto
Lazaridis - Did well to run the clock down in the last 5 minutes
