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Sunday, 5 February 2012

Full-time: Bristol City 0, Leeds United 3

BRISTOL CITY 0, LEEDS UNITED 3

 

Bristol City were comprehensively beaten by managerless Leeds as they failed to put further distance between themselves and the npower Championship relegation zone.

And to make matters worse, they had James Wilson and Yannick Bolasie sent off inside 58 minutes to end the game with nine men.

Leeds exploited their numerical advantage ruthlessly, Robert Snodgrass firing them in front foyur minutes before half time and Ross McCormack and Luciano Becchio adding late goals to give caretaker boss Neil Redfearn a winning start.

Trounced 4-1 by Birmingham in midweek and under the caretaker management of youth team coach Neil Redfearn following the sacking of Simon Grayson, Leeds were playing for pride as much as points.

But they still appeared to be in a state of shock as City came out hard at them and dictated terms during the early stages.

Wingers Yannick Bolasie and Albert Adomah both had a degree of success against their respective full-backs and the two combined to create the first clear-cut goal-scoring opportunity after seven minutes.

Bolasie jinked between two defenders and threaded a neat through ball into the path of Adomah, whose low shot was turned away by a full-length Andy Lonergan.

No doubt encouraged by Millwall's 2-1 defeat at West Ham United earlier in the day and eager to pull further clear of the relegation zone, City continued to play with urgency and press the visitors back. When Bolasie engineered room for a cross and Chris Wood muscled his way past Tom Lees, Leeds centre-back Darren O'Dea came to the rescue with a last-ditch clearance at the expense of a corner.

Former Leeds midfielder Neil Kilkenny then tried his luck from 25 yards out, forcing keeper Lonergan to save at the second attempt as Wood bore down on him.

City were coping better with the icy conditions and Robert Snodgrass and Adam Clayton were both shown yellow cards for hefty challenges on Bolasie and Kilkenny respectively.

City were firmly on the front foot and Adomah  accepted a pass from Kilkenny and tested Lonergan with a stinging shot that drew a fine diving save from the keeper.

Looking for all the world like a team that had come for a point, Leeds stunned the home side when taking the lead completely against the run of play from their first attack of note in the 41st minute.

Strikers Luciano Becchio and McCormack combined on the edge of the penalty area and the latter rolled the ball into the path of Snodgrass who, unmarked on the left side of the box, had time to pick his spot and shoot low past David James.

And worse followed for City three minutes later, centre-back James Wilson pulling back McCormack when he was clean through and being shown a straight red card by referee James Linnington for denying the Leeds forward a goal-scoring opportunity.

Kalifa Cisse dropped back into the centre of defence as the Robins were forced to reorganise and Kilkenny came within inches of putting them level when meeting Bolasie's cross with a first-time shot than flew just wide.

City boss Derek McInnes made a change at half-time, withdrawing Kilkenny and sending on Ryan McGivern to give the team much-needed balance. McGivern filled in at left-back, Richard Foster switched to right-back and Cole Skuse moved into midfield.

But the Robins came close to falling further behind when McCormack headed in a Snodgrass cross at the back post, only to be denied a goal by an offside flag.

Although City enjoyed a lucky escape on that occasions, problems were mounting up for the home side, who were reduced to nine men in the 58th minute. Already cautioned for foul on Darren O'Dea a few minutes earlier, Bolasie foolishly dived in on Adam Smith to earn a second yellow card, followed by a red.

The game was effectively up for the home side when McCormack swept home an Adam Clayton cross from close range with 11 minutes remaining.

Luciano Becchio added to City's misery in added time when helping himself to a third goal.

City (4-3-3): James; Skuse, Wilson, Fontaine, Foster; Kilkenny, Cisse (Campbell-Ryce 85), Pearson; Adomah, Wood (Stead 71 mins), Bolasie.

Leeds (4-4-2): Lonergan; Smith, Lees, O'Dea, Pugh; Snodgrass, Clayton, Delph, White; Becchio, McCormack.

Referee: James Linnington (Isle of Wight)

Attendance: 15,267

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