The first twenty minutes brought back memories of the carefree attacking football so often last season. We could easily have been three goals ahead as Leeds had no answer to our pace and movement off the ball. We flowed forward at every opportunity with player running off the ball and quick, simple passing in midfield. Gunter seemed to be tripped just inside the area but nothing given, Anderson’s rebound hit their keeper (who knew nothing about it) whilst Earnshaw’s effort across the keeper flicked the post and away to safety. We had to settle for Gunter’s excellent left footed cross and Blackstock’s flicked header into the bottom corner to give us a deserved lead.
 
Even before their equaliser, there were signs that the game was turning away from us. However, this was all our own fault and nothing to do with any quality from a very average Leeds team. Too many unforced errors caused moments of defensive panic and eventually we got caught out. Morgan attempted a cross-field pass that was never on, the resulting left wing cross saw Morgan beaten again in the air, leaving Camp with no chance. Morgan wasn’t alone though, his was one of a number of unnecessary risks taken when in possession.
 
The rest of the game was a dull scrappy affair as Forest looked a mess in midfield, allowing Leeds much more time in possession than they should have been allowed. Fortunately, they had very little composure in front of goal and we got away with it. Neither keeper made any saves worth mentioning so a draw was a fair result. Their low shot through a crowd of players was a couple of feet wide and another flicked header, again off target, were the only times we looked in any genuine danger. At the other end, there was very rarely anything to get excited about as we struggled to maintain any momentum.
 
We looked a mess in midfield compared to the early stages as we stopped doing the simple things that gave us such a good start. McKenna constantly gave the ball away, Raddy looked for that glory pass or ambitious shot every time. Billy tried to change things around in the wide areas by introducing the pace of McCleary and Tyson. Neither had much of an effect and seemed to hinder us even further as it took an age for everyone to understand where they were playing. Cohen moved into the centre for a while and then ended the game back on the right wing once Moussi was belatedly introduced. Everyone seemed to be going through the motions and lacked that spark that a new arrival would surely provide. Worryingly, Billy wouldn’t talk about possible new additions after the game, seemingly bored and appearing resigned to a lack of action for some time.
 
Whilst the opening goal gave some cause for optimism, the majority of the game was below par and disjointed. In the poor spells, we looked a side approaching the end of a long/hard season instead of one bursting with energy. All the early enthusiasm soon disappeared to be replaced by an endless stream of mis-hit or mis-directed passes. Apart from Earnshaw and Blackstock, the lack of genuine goal scorers remains a concern, the midfield doesn’t look capable of providing enough goals on the occasions where the forwards are marked out of the game.
 
The full backs, Gunter and Bertrand, were the highlight of the afternoon. Neither were blameless in terms of giving the ball away but showed enough quality at both ends of the field to suggest we’ve addressed those positions at least. MOTM Gunter took advantage of the space down our right hand side to provide many of the first half highlights. Can consider himself lucky to stay on the pitch after a stamp on one of their players but having seen their behaviour, there was some provocation involved. Bertrand down the left looks very comfortable on the ball and adds badly needed balance to the side. With the narrow midfield we employ, it’s essential that the full backs are able to make use of the space in front of them.

Tags: MOTM Chris Gunter, Games Drawn