
Hartlepool United struck deep into injury-time to deny Leeds United all three points and the opportunity to profit from their rivals slipping up.
Leeds were again unconvincing but looked to have sealed the points in a scrappy game when Luciano Becchio prodded home his second. Hartlepool never gave up and equalised for a second time just before the final whistle to earn a deserved point.
Late goals always hurt and the manner of the goal, another set-piece, is equally disappointing but you have to take it on the chin and move on. We have scored plenty of late goals this season and it was inconceivable to think we could go the whole season without conceding so late. It is an old cliche but things do even themselves out over the course of a season.
It was our never-say-day attitude which led to those goals and it can be said our application is what has caused this slump we are in. It is easy to see we have been off the pace recently – we lack the bite, the desire to close down and the solidity we had during the earlier part of the season. You can put that down to a lot of things but we need to get back to doing those basics.
I have no doubt we will come through this and gain promotion quite comfortably – I am not as up and down as a lot of Leeds United fans. As fans it is almost as if we have a mild case of Bipolar. When we win we get far too carried away and when we lose we have blown it and we will be lucky to make the play-offs.
Let’s keep things in perspective. Yes we can all see we are not playing well and it is slightly worrying but even the best sides go through a bad patch. We should be getting three points from places like Hartlepool but these guys aren’t robots and are playing at League One level for a reason right now – they are fallible.
I am not making excuses but the weather can have a bearing on a dip in form. Playing on a muddy, bumpy pitch isn’t conducive to passing football and is often a leveller when playing teams of a lesser standard. It is the same in Rugby League too – just look at Leeds Rhinos and St Helens this weekend, they will be dreaming of flat, slick surfaces in the summer.
I am as disappointed as anyone with yesterday’s result but we are still chipping away at our points target and when we re-find our form I have no doubt we will pull away from Charlton and the rest.









