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Matches
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25
March 1972 - Leeds United 3 Arsenal 0
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First Division - Elland Road - 45,055 |
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Scorers: Clarke, Jones, Lorimer |
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Leeds United: Sprake, Reaney, Cooper, Bremner, Charlton, Hunter, Lorimer, Clarke, Jones, Giles, Madeley |
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Arsenal: Wilson, Rice, Nelson, Storey, McLintock, Simpson, Armstrong, Ball, George, Kennedy, Roberts (Marinello) |
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The Gunners' visit to Elland Road at the end of
March 1972 provided Revie and his men with a perfect opportunity
for payback. A win would almost certainly bring to an end the
Gunners' dwindling hopes of retaining their championship and at
the same time boost their own chances. Certainly form favoured
Leeds: on 26 February the Gunners had been fourth, but had since
slipped to ninth, while United were currently third, five points
short of leaders Manchester City with two games in hand. The Yorkshiremen
had hit a rich vein of form at Elland Road, winning 13 games in
a row and conceding only five goals in eleven matches. Nevertheless, Leeds acted as perfect hosts. After
completing their now customary pre-match warm up by throwing plastic
footballs to the crowd, they provided a guard of honour to applaud
Arsenal onto the field as a tribute to the Gunners' Double triumph.
Skipper Billy Bremner presented Arsenal counterpart Frank McLintock
with a commemorative silver tankard to mark the achievement. Don Revie was deprived for the day of the services
of Eddie Gray, suffering a stomach complaint, but he simply moved
Paul Madeley into midfield and restored Paul Reaney at right-back.
It was hardly a diminution of United's considerable powers. Arsenal were without striker John Radford, but had
Alan Ball making his first appearance at Elland Road since his
record £220,000 move from Everton in December and most of their
other Double-winning players were on show. There was a let off for the Gunners as early as
the second minute; after the first Arsenal foray, United came
swiftly out of defence for Peter Lorimer to send Mick Jones away
up the middle. He beat McLintock but could only shoot narrowly
wide. They were off again immediately with Lorimer sending a 25-yard
shot wide, and then Jones was brought down unfairly as he powered
through the defence. It was only a matter of time before the pressure
told and United opened the scoring in the 11th minute. Lorimer
broke away down the right and took the ball to the byline before
cutting the ball low across goal for Allan Clarke to steer past
goalkeeper Bob Wilson. It was an incisive move that cut the Gunners
Jones twice came close to increasing the lead, heading
fractionally over and then coming inches short of touching home
from a low Lorimer cross. The Scot had established his clear superiority over
his marker, Northern Irish international Sammy Nelson, and rounded
him again to send over another telling centre, but Allan Clarke
could only clear the bar with his header. He slammed a fist into
the turf in annoyance at his lack of accuracy. Surprisingly, despite an almost complete lack of
opportunities, the visitors came close to an equaliser on the
half hour when Charlie George headed against United's bar. It was only a temporary stemming of the tide, however,
and Leeds doubled their advantage after 35 minutes. Peter Simpson tried to play his way out of defence
but when he passed out to the right, he missed his target and
Terry Cooper picked the ball up and set off on another searching
run before looping a cross into the area. Nelson, Wilson and John
Roberts all hesitated, unsure of who should take responsibility,
and Jones capitalised on their hesitation, throwing himself at
the bouncing ball to flick it over Wilson and into the net. Arsenal attempted to hit back; Ball struck an upright
and Jack Charlton had to
concede a corner as the Gunners pressed, but the third goal came
from the home team. Bremner was fouled out on the left touchline. Cooper
fed the free kick short to Giles, who found Lorimer loose in the
middle. He had been the scourge of the Arsenal defence and got
his due desserts, unleashing a swerving power drive from 30 yards.
It flew into the net, with Wilson only able to touch it thence
off the post. 3-0 and no more than Leeds deserved for their dominant
first half showing. Arsenal reshuffled at the interval, replacing John
Roberts, who had been found wanting in their defence, with Peter
Marinello and opting for an attack-minded 4-2-4 formation. Roberts
had earlier been left unconscious by an impact with team mate
Peter Storey as Arsenal frantically sought to avoid conceding;
Sammy Nelson doubtlessly wished that he had been the man withdrawn
after the chasing he had been given by Lorimer in the first period.
Marinello's penetration made the Gunners more of a threat, but
United came out in the second half with as much confidence as
they had ended the first, though they seemed content to sit on
their lead. Redditch referee John Yates had to speak to Ball
and Norman Hunter for a clash on the touchline which ended with
the awarding of a free kick to Leeds and he then booked both Ball
and Pat Rice for infringements against the threatening Cooper. Bremner and Giles were troubling Arsenal whenever
they chose to try their hands and there was almost another goal
for United in the 64th minute when Clarke tuned a low cross from
Bremner goalwards only to see Wilson save it at the second attempt.
At the other end, Reaney blocked a hard shot from George before
Ball prodded the rebound wide of an open goal. Arsenal came more into the contest as the While one felt that United were playing within themselves
and could have gone up through the gears if the need had been
there, Leeds opted for containment in the second period and declined
to push on for another goal. Nevertheless, the damage had already
been done and the 3-0 final scoreline accurately reflected their
dominance. Geoffrey Green in The Times: 'Leeds United in their
present state are as entertaining as any team in Europe. Without further
useless comparisons with Real Madrid of old, let us at least be grateful
for this alone, a fact which they amply emphasised at Elland Road on Saturday. 'First, they generously applauded Arsenal on to the field.
Next, they presented McLintock with a silver tankard to commemorate the
double of last season. and then filled the Londoners' cup to overflowing
with a masterly first half display that swept them to a 3-0 victory which
might well have read 7-3 at the finish had every chance to both sides
been faithfully slotted. It was that sort of match. 'There are two reservations, however, to be made on Leeds.
Once regarded as suffocatingly defensive, they now seem so totally committed
to fancy attacking patterns that every now and then they tend to lower
their guard at the back. Certainly, it was a healthy and welcome attitude,
yet in two brief counter strokes before the interval, Arsenal almost made
them pay for their intoxication as George and Ball struck the woodwork
with scarcely a defender in sight. True, Leeds could have been four or
five up by then, but there is a latent danger in all their euphoria. 'The second point at issue is the new image being painfully
nailed to them by a public relations man. Some of this showbiz razamataz
is harmless enough. But the limbering up antics Leeds perform in unison
before the kick off is somehow embarrassing and lowers their dignity.
They are not trained animals under some Barnum & Bailey big top. If they
want to be loved, let their exciting football work the oracle. 'Already home and dry by the interval through goals by Clarke,
Jones and Lorimer, and doubtless with thoughts of matches against Nottingham
Forest, West Ham and Derby this week, Leeds went off the boil in the second
half. They coasted comfortably with passages of possession football, one
of which saw a succession of some 14 passes taunt Arsenal. Each touch
brought an arrogant roar from the 45,000 crowd like the Ole's of a bull
ring. 'By then Arsenal had learned a bitter lesson and rectified
faulty team structure... To face Ajax and Leeds within four days would
be a test for anyone. Arsenal, knocked out of Europe last Wednesday, now
said 'The goalkeeper certainly had no chance when Clarke skilfully
turned in Lorimer's cross after only 12 minutes and would not have been
blamed had Leeds led by five goals at the half. The Yorkshiremen, spreading
the ball beautifully, short and long, failed only in their own finishing.
Yet goals No 2 and 3 could have been prevented. When Jones prodded home
Cooper's chip 10 minutes from the interval, Nelson and Wilson between
them opened the door. Nor should Lorimer's epic shot have found its mark
from a full 35 yards. Wilson's dive was late.' Eric Todd in The Guardian: 'Every adjective, not
every one complimentary of course, has been allocated to Leeds these past
few years, Most of them were relevant and justified, but few of us ever
expected 'merciful' to be applicable. For all their superb football -
Clarke particularly looks like a world class player nowadays - Leeds still
have less to show for it than they should have. They scored seven against
Southampton, and they should have had seven apiece, if not more, against
Tottenham and Arsenal, even allowing for the magnificent work of Jennings
and Wilson, on whom Leeds themselves must have cast covetous eyes. Sprake's
moments of inspiration are outnumbered by those of indecision. 'Arsenal were shattered completely in that first half, and
their defence was in ruins from the first minute when Jones shot horribly
wide... Yet in the midst of all this chaos, Leeds satisfied themselves
with only three goals. 'In the second half, Leeds remembered that they had a game
against Nottingham Forest this evening, and they strolled through the
rest of the afternoon in response to popular demand and sarcastic urgings.' Richard Ulyatt in the Yorkshire Post: 'After Saturday's
match at Elland Road I ran over in my mind's eye all the great soccer
teams I had watched during the last 45 years or more. Were any of them,
I wondered, better than the Leeds United side whose forward line of Lorimer,
Clarke, Jones, Giles and Gray slugged Southampton
7-0 early this month or the line, with Madeley in place of Gray (down
with a stomach complaint) which carved Arsenal to pieces in the first
half on Saturday? 'Was the great Huddersfield line of Jackson, Kelly, Brown,
Stephenson and Billy Smith in the late 20s any better, or Arsenal's famous
attack of Hulme, Jack, Lambert, James, Bastin of about the same time?
Did Manchester City's wizard forwards, Toseland, Marshall, Tilson, Herd
and Brook, or for that matter the Derby line of about that time in the
early 'I doubt it, the football was different, but quality in
whatever context, cannot be totally hidden and there has been high quality
about many of the Leeds displays recently, not, perhaps, maintained at
Leicester last Wednesday or in the second half on Saturday. 'The point of similarity about all those great teams I have
mentioned is that the forwards were sustained by equally skilful players
behind them. Madeley would stand comparison with all but a handful of
players either as a forward or as a back, Bremner, Cooper, Reaney, as
he played against Arsenal, would not be out of their company whatever
the age or style of football currently popular. 'This Leeds United team seldom fails now to provide pleasure
and excitement. Most of it on Saturday was confined to the first half,
when from the kick off they were strictly down to the business of winning. 'After presenting Arsenal with a tankard to mark last season's
double, the Leeds players gave them nothing for 45 minutes, not even the
ball at the first throw in, and by half-time Clarke, Jones and Lorimer
had completed the scoring. 'They had demolished Arsenal's slight remaining hope of
the championship and thereafter ceased to be as brilliantly ebullient,
partly because several of them did not want to aggravate injuries sustained
in the first half and partly, possibly, because they were pacing themselves
for the busy days ahead this week and next. 'In the second half Arsenal came almost into the match as
an attacking force. They might have scored several goals through George
and Ball, who hit the woodwork of the goal, shot just over, caused Reaney
to kick off the line and Sprake to make the game's best save. 'On the other hand, Leeds could, had they been on target,
have turned round with six or seven goals behind them. 'Arsenal, in that fascinating first half, were impotent
to check wave after wave of attack. Giles and Bremner took the ball it
seemed at will, varying the obvious pass with the improbable. Madeley
bored through the defence with the inevitability of a tank. Lorimer shrugged
and dummied past Nelson almost whenever he wanted to. Arsenal's defence
has seldom, since before Herbert Chapman's
days, been seen to look so ineffective. 'They tended, as beaten teams do, to blame European football
from which they had recently been dismissed by Ajax of Amsterdam. "It
drained us completely," McLintock said. "But while we were weary
after such a hard season Leeds played like a great side - the best in
England." Whatever Leeds United's rating in the long history of football
they are perfectionists at interpreting the modern methods and Arsenal's
faults of covering only stressed the point.' |