A bit of festive cheer was had by all yesterday as Leeds came from behind to win 3-1 at home to Hartlepool United. Beckford has deservedly stole the headlines, but here’s how I thought the rest of the team rated too.

Casper Ankergren – 7
Did what he had to do throughout and whilst the passes remain a little dodgy and his catching could use some improvement, he did well overall. Can’t be held accountable for the goal as it was sloppy defending that left their mammoth of a striker unmarked.

Leigh Bromby – 6
Quiet, but didn’t really do much wrong. A bit dodgy at times in the first half, but sharpened up in the second. Not an ideal solution – let’s say “adequate.”

Patrick Kisnorbo – 8
Another solid performance from Kis. Can’t put a foot wrong really, although the mammoth striker i mentioned who scored (Ármann Björnsson) was beating Kis and Nayl’s in the air for fun at times. Hardly surprising though as he was about six inches taller.

Richard Naylor – 6.5
Bit of an up and down performance from Nayl’s. His passing went astray at times (like others), and like Kis he was beaten a few times by the beast they had upfront. Also has to take some responsibility for the goal we conceded as the captain is the one who should be organising the defence in such situations – especially when he’s a centre-back. Leaving the back post empty is a major oversight. On the flipside, he got in with the tackles and blocks.

Andrew Hughes – 7.5
A very good performance from Hughes. Bit of a scare early on when he was down for a while with what looked like a knee injury, but pulled through and had a good game. Even delivered a couple of good crosses in.

Jonny Howson – 6.5
Poor in the first half but improved no end in the second. Distribution was way off early doors, but after the break he came back looking like a different player.

Micky Doyle – 5
I’m usually quite a fan of Doyle, but he served no real purpose in this game. Around the box he brings little to the party, but that’s nothing unusual. His strength usually lies in suring up the back line, which to an extent he did, but he gave the ball away far too often.

Neil Kilkenny – 7.5
Neil spreads the ball better than anyone else on the team. It’s like a natural ability for him to be able to pick out the right pass that creates openings for others. Great performance from him, but like last week, he could have shot more often.

Robert Snodgrass – 8
Absolutely tireless in his efforts. The passes didn’t always make it, nor did the crosses, but he was everywhere. Had several shots blocked within the opening quarter of an hour and I was surprised he didn’t get his name on the scoresheet.

Lucciano Becchio – 7.5
Not sure whether he’ll be awarded with the goal as it took a major deflection, but worked hard throughout, holding the ball up and playing people in. Was taken off after a daft yellow card he picked up for a handbags battle also involving Johnson.

Jermaine Beckford – 9
I can’t believe there are still people criticising parts of his play when he scored twice. He was a bit over-eager at times, granted, but he worked hard throughout and was unlucky not to get the hat trick considering the shot that came back off the bar. That’s the kind of answer we all wanted from Beckford after his recent antics, let’s hope he can keep it up.

Substitutions
Gradel was too eager to score for his own good and a little selfish in truth. Johnson and Kandol didn’t really get much of a chance to do anything (other than get himself booked in Johnson’s case). By the time they came on, the match was won and the rest of the team were more interested in playing olé football than they were scoring again.