It wasn't an early morning thankfully due to kick off being 3pm so it was nice to have a bit of a sleep in.
Even though it was a 3pm kick off, there was no time for a pre-match pint, the police ordered all the coaches to rendezvous at Peterborough services so we could get an escort into the ground.
We used to park in a car park just at the back of the away stand, however, this is currently being re-developed into the most random housing estate I have ever seen, so we parked in a car park about 5 mins walk away from the ground. The weather was sticky and humid, and just as we arrived, the heavens opened and the turnstiles weren't yet open, at this point, I was panicking as I am terrified of lightning and I knew it was going to start. Thankfully though they opened the turnstiles and we got into the ground, just in time, as the thunder rumbled for about half an hour (thank god it was under cover!!).
Though this was only the third match of the season, it felt like much more, it felt like if we didn't get 3 points from this, then we'd have some serious problems. Like I have said before though, there are no easy games, you can't go into a game and expect to win, it doesn't work like that.
As the teams came out on to the pitch, we took the roof off with the noise we were making. Though London Road is an old ground, it is one with character and the only one in this league with Terracing!! We never sit down at away matches anyway so it makes no odds to a lot of us if there are no seats. I honestly can't explain how loud we sang, it was one of those moments where the hair stands up on the back of your neck.
Approx 3,800 people all on top form singing: 'Your dad's a c**t and so are you' to Darren Fergusson just before the game kicked off, resulted in a wave from the Peterborough manager which then started a round of various other songs about him.
We started the game well, we looked strong, Ross McCormack having the first shot of the game in the 4th minute but the keeper dealt with the threat.
7 minutes in however and Luciano Becchio got the first goal when Ross McCormack crossed a ball into the box and Becchio was there to tap it in.
Scoring early is always good, but we then tend to soak up pressure which then usually results in a goal for the opposing team. I hoped we'd crack on like it was 0 - 0 and go for another.
Peterborough almost opened their scoring on the 13th minute when a corner was taken by Grant McCann and Shaun Brisley shot on target, however Paddy Kenny saved and the game continued.
As most of you will know, Paddy Kenny has a song that goes, 'Paddy Kenny, having a party, bring your vodka, and your charlie' - The lads came up with one for Rudolph Austin too on Saturday, which goes 'Rodolph Austin, having a party, bring your Rizla's and Bob Marley'....Qua....Li....Ty - I love it, though our players are probably going to be drugs tested more frequently ha ha!!
We were having the better of the play and seemed to be comfortable, the only time we ever looked shaky was when they were on the counter and they had the potential to cut through midfield.
Becchio and McCormack were looking strong and both had shots on the 23rd and 27th minutes, Becchio was just off target with a header and Ross had a shot blocked. It was encouraging to see that we were looking for another goal.
Emile Sinclair was booked on the 28th minute for what looked like a horror challenge on Lee Peltier.
Both sides had chances on the 34th minute of play when Ross McCormack headed just over the bar and Grant McCann had a shot blocked, though we were in control of the match, it was clear to see, Peterborough were not taking this lying down.
As storms continued to rumble on in the distance, the rain came down just as the referee blew for half time.
I was personally quite happy with the way we were playing, there is always room for improvement and we could have been tighter so that their counter attacks could have been dealt with faster but on the whole it was a good first half.
When the second half kicked off, the rain was really coming down.
We had a corner right from the off and that was taken by Ross McCormack, however it went out for a throw in. David Norris shot on target after Lee Peltier's second throw in but the keeper Robert Olejnik had it covered.
Peterborough responded though and shortly after Paddy Kenny was called into action after Lee Tomlin had a shot.
After a great bit of play, Luciano Becchio scored his second with a header right in front of us, we went crazy once again, but what was nice to see was the way the goal was celebrated by the team, A group hug in front of the Leeds United Faithful was lovely to see, it just felt like the togetherness was back in the squad. Luciano then knelt in front of the away supporter and did his trademark celebration.
The next 10 minutes of the game were a bit of a power struggle with no clear cut chances for either side. We were still winding up Darren Fergusson though with chants of 'He's gonna cry in a minute', he looked to be getting more and more irate the more the match went on.
just after the hour mark, we began to get a little sloppy defence wise and Lee Tomlin tested Paddy Kenny who just tipped the ball over the bar.
Though it was clear to see Peterborough were more in the game, it was still a struggle for either side to gain control of the game, but on the 73rd minute a shot by Michael Bostwick made the score 1 - 2. Leading up to the goal Luke Varney had missed a chance to clear the ball which ultimately gave Peterborough a chance to score, silly mistakes can be costly. My immediate thought was 'Oh shit, not again' however I hoped it would give us a kick up the arse as they only had a one goal deficit now and had everything to play for with plenty of time left on the clock.
From the kick off The Posh were fired up and a shot by Paul Taylor just went wide of the goal, it was clear to see we needed a change, a fresh pair of legs to hopefully stop them equalising.
El Hadji Diouf, who didn't impress, was replaced by Sam Byram.
The shots kept on coming though as Grant McCann tried to even the odds but the shot (thankfully) went wide ha ha.
Dom Poleon was given a run out as he replaced Ross McCormack just before 80 minutes. He made an impact and almost straight after he came on, he was brought down by Danny Swanson who was booked for the challenge.
Luciano Becchio was replaced by Andy Gray just before 90 mins.
Grant McCann was really hunting an equaliser and had yet another change on the 90th minute, however it wasn't to be.
4 minutes of Fergie time was announced which seemed like forever as Peterborough piled the pressure on us and had a couple more shots on goal. As the whistle blew, I was able to breathe a sign of relief. We came out of it with an important 3 points.
A lot of people were annoyed at the performance, and admittedly a lot of the 2nd half was not easy to watch as a fan and there were more mistakes than we'd like. I have had to learn the hard way however that you can't dwell on it, when you support Leeds United, no two games are ever the same, we never do things the easy way.
Luciano Becchio was back to his old self. It was one of the best games I have seen him play in quite a while, not just the goals he scored, his defensive headers, clearing the ball from the box, away from any danger. His goals were taken really well and the togetherness after his second really was heartwarming. He was definitely my man of the match.
Austin was another one who had a good game, solid tackles, held the ball well, he's impressing me, I think it must have been the excitement of the new song we have for him ;o)
Peterborough were the quietest set of fans I have ever witnessed. We out sung them all game, the only thing I heard from them was their stupid drum and the cheer after their first goal, they were rubbish!!
We play Oxford in the Capital One Cup at home tonight. Back in the Kop for me as I can't have my Season Ticket seat again.
At a guess I would say Neil Warnock will rest quite a lot of the first team and give the likes of Poleon, Kisnorbo and Gray a game.
Oxford are doing really well in League 2 at the moment, sitting pretty at the top after winning three and drawing one of their last four games!!
MOT xx <3 xx
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