Becchio brace not enough to sink Hartlepool United TSS February 7, 2010 Match reviews 39 Comments Firstly, sorry for the lack of updates lately, I’ve been a little busy with other things and had little time to spare for TSS. No match review for Tottenham was posted, and nor will it be. Those that weren’t alongside me at Elland Road undoubtedly saw the tie on TV so will know Leeds were by no means shameful in defeat, but bowed out of the FA Cup gracefully and can now concentrate on more pressing matters. Those matters started again at Hartlepool in what was a scrappy affair throughout, with the match ending 2-2 as Hartlepool levelled it deep into injury time. Another set play poorly defended ultimately cost us the three points after a Becchio brace has left us infront going into the dying moments of the match. The most frustrating part of the equaliser was knowing a win would have been vital to our title dreams as both Norwich and Charlton slipped up. Essentially, Hartlepool earnt their point the same way Leeds have snatched so many this season by never giving up and fighting to the death. Whether it was complacency from Leeds that cost us the win is debatable, but the defending of set-plays being brought into question once more won’t surprise anyone. Whilst this wasn’t an epic performance from Leeds, it wasn’t a dismal one either like we’ve witnessed in recent weeks. We’re lacking the bit of flair we’ve played with at times this season, but you can’t expect to see that every game. To say Leeds should have beaten Hartlepool would be discrediting what was a good side who battle hard and overall, deserved their point. As hard as the late equaliser was to swallow, that’s the reality of it. Leeds never really outclassed Hartlepool and a draw is a fair reflection of the game. Whilst it’d have been nice to get a win at Pool and capitalise on Norwich’s slip, I suspect an average of four points from every six will be more than enough to take us up automatically, so a draw away and a win at home in our last two is good form as far as I’m concerned and we’re on the right track once more. The ups Domination: In the first half we dominated almost totally. Becchio’s goal was the only thing that seperated us though at half-time and Pool grew in confidence because of it. Becchio: Luci is on a nice run of form at the minute and thoroughly deserved his brace. Squad rotation: Some of it forced by injury, whilst others were just rested, but it was nice to see a few different faces in the starting XI. We’d all questioned Simon’s motives in fielding the same squad in congested patches, so it’s good to see him utilising the depth and Leeds getting a result with some different faces. The downs Conceding from set-plays: Anyone know how many we’ve conceded from set-plays this season? I suspect it’ll be a large percentage of our total. It seems to have been a constant thorn in our side for a while and shows no signs of letting up. Lack of va-va-voom: It’s that little thing you just can’t put your finger on that one minute you have and the next you don’t. A little flair, some finesse, I don’t quite know, but at times this season we’ve been untouchable and a joy to watch. This wasn’t one of them. TSS man of the match Three goals in the last two for our on/off goalscorer. Let’s hope he can continue to contribute more as the season comes to a close. Failure to capture another striker in the transfer window disappointed me, but if Luci is to start firing them in like this, then who cares. MOT.