Leeds give their title ambitions big boost

Leeds United never did go in much for Messiahs. Even Don Revie was more godfather than God the father.

Certainly David O'Leary would never claim to be a worker of miracles. On the contrary, the present manager of Leeds insists that, among his contemporaries, he is "young and naive".

Few, however, will buy such a self-assessment even if the tongue is firmly in the cheek. At 41 O'Leary is relatively young in the management business, but as to naivety, well, he is hardly Candide in a tracksuit.

It is nearly a year since O'Leary took over from George Graham at Elland Road. Saturday's 3-2 victory over Newcastle United brought Leeds to within two points of the leaders, Manchester United.

O'Leary dismisses talk of his side's championship potential with a non-committal smile, which at this stage of the proceedings is a wise policy. Since Graham left, he has successfully waved the wand of youth over the Leeds team and accentuated the positive by eliminating much that was negative, but the job is far from complete.

The manner of Leeds's win over Bobby Robson's revived but still flawed Newcastle side said it all. During the opening 40 minutes O'Leary's attack shredded the opposing defence with breathtaking football full of instinctive passing and movement, shrewd angles and excellent anticipation. They scored two goals and might have had five.

However, once Alan Shearer had found the net either side of half-time Leeds's football wore a callow look until Michael Bridges produced their winner a quarterof-an-hour from the end. Earlier Bridges had seen one shot hit the crossbar and dragged two more wide when he had only Steve Harper to beat.

These moments appeared to confirm the urgency of O'Leary's need for an experienced striker following the loss of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, but the Leeds manager was having none of that. "I'm prepared to wait for the right man," he insisted, "and I want someone who will be here for five or six years. I'm not interested in anybody coming here for their final pay cheque."

Given the potential of Bridges and the 18-year-old Alan Smith, the all-round class of Harry Kewell, Lee Bowyer's new maturity and the intermittent bursts of Darren Huckerby it appears O'Leary can afford to bide his time.

Leeds could be champions again, but for that to happen they will have to start keeping clean sheets on a regular basis. O'Leary's ambitious style of play, with the emphasis on swift exchanges of passes and interchanges of position, is delightful to watch but the defence still concedes goals through lapses of concentration.

Yet considering both of Newcastle's goals were scored by the newly-revived Shearer - the first an awesome example of the England captain's power as he thrust past Lucas Radebe to head in from Nolberto Solano's free-kick, the second a firm shot to take a chance neatly set up by Kieron Dyer - O'Leary had less to grumble about than usual.

Had Leeds been held to a draw it would have been the result of chances missed rather than defensive mistakes. In fact Robson had far more reason to be concerned about elementary errors at the back, reminiscent of the doomed management of Ruud Gullit.

After 11 minutes a quick through pass from Eirik Bakke, an above-average Norseman, found Bowyer in a huge gap and he scored with a hugely confident shot. Six minutes before half-time David Batty's cleverly-flighted centre found Kewell at the far post and so absent was the marking that the ball bounced before he rose high to head past Harper.

Once Shearer had brought the scores level Newcastle looked capable of getting a draw or snatching a win. Then Huckerby, who had replaced Smith, turned Newcastle's defence on the left before setting up an opportunity for Bridges which this time he accepted with alacrity, directing the ball inside the right-hand post.

"It's getting better," said Robson, "but we've lost three points and we're still in trouble." He also lost Temuri Ketsbaia with damaged knee ligaments. Now, more than ever, Newcastle need Shearer to carry on scoring.

LEEDS UNITED: Martyn, Kelly, Woodgate, Radebe, Harte, Bakke (Haaland 78), Batty, Bowyer, Kewell, Smith (Huckerby 73), Bridges. Subs Not Used: Mills, Jones, Robinson. Booked: Martyn, Radebe, Smith, Kelly, Batty. Goals: Bowyer 11, Kewell 39, Bridges 77.

NEWCASTLE UNITED: Harper, Barton, Marcelino, Goma, Domi, Solano, McClen (Charvet 73), Speed, Dyer, Shearer, Ketsbaia (Robinson 43). Subs Not Used: Glass, Hughes, Wright. Booked: Domi, Marcelino, Speed. Goals: Shearer 42, 54.

Referee: B Knight (Orpington).