O'Leary's lads earn measure of respite

Leeds...2  Ipswich...0  Peace has broken out at Leeds United. Another strained period in the club's history ended in a relative state of harmony last night - temporarily, at least - as David O'Leary's side gathered their first win since New Year's Day. It was not pretty but, for now, the dissenters will keep their silence and Brian Kidd, the scapegoat of their recent malaise, need not feel quite so persecuted.

There is a long way to go before Leeds can boast they are back to their best, but O'Leary and Kidd will be optimistic that this was a start. On a night of Yorkshire gales their players profited courtesy of a fortuitous effort from Robbie Fowler followed by a penalty from Ian Harte to consolidate fifth position while leaving Ipswich hovering perilously above the relegation zone.

For as long as Leeds remain so far off the pace, their Champions League aspirations having all but disintegrated, it is inevitable there will be disillusionment among their fans. Yet the vitriol aimed at Kidd during Sunday's scoreless draw at Everton ensured that, before kick-off, it was a climate of uncertainty, almost paranoia, that accompanied the widespread dissatisfaction generated by a sequence of 10 matches without a win.

Would Kidd be targeted again? Or would the pleas of O'Leary, his chairman Peter Ridsdale and the Leeds players be heeded? These are confusing days at Elland Road and one of English football's more atmospheric stadiums was notably apathetic for the opening exchanges.

In fairness, there was precious little to get worked up about. The blustery conditions made neat, attractive football devilishly hard and Ipswich, unashamedly employing a containment game, were seldom troubled in a first half that began sluggishly and went downhill from there.

Indeed, George Burley's side could lay claim to the most inviting chance of the half when Alun Armstrong connected with a Mark Venus corner only to direct his header a yard or so beyond Nigel Martyn's right-hand post.

While Leeds clearly had the territorial advantage their football was too often built on hope rather than expectation, with little penetration early on other than when Mark Viduka's pass afforded Gary Kelly a shooting opportunity that the right back aimed too close to Andy Marshall. The biggest connection Leeds made, in fact, was the elbow from Harry Kewell that poleaxed Fabian Wilnis.

What happened 16 seconds into the second half, therefore, carried more than an element of surprise. Leeds worked the ball forward from the kick-off, but a goal hardly seemed likely when Viduka prodded a square pass across the edge of the penalty to Fowler.

Given too much space by Hermann Hreidarsson, the striker sent in a speculative shot that dipped and swerved in the wind but was hit with such little power that it looked like a routine save for Marshall until bouncing sharply off the turf and deceivi ng the goalkeeper. It was Fowler's ninth goal in 16 games - Leeds's first in 7 hours 22 minutes - since his £11 million recruitment from Liverpool in November, and the softest of the lot.

With the wind behind them, Ipswich then had their best period of the match. Shots from Jim Magilton and Armstrong were both deflected narrowly wide either side of the hour mark. Magilton tried his luck again but this time a low shot was saved by Martyn.

But 13 minutes from time the game was effectively sealed. Fowler's long pass was intercepted by Jamie Clapham, but his header back to Marshall was under-hit and Alan Smith nipped in to take the ball round the goalkeeper, being taken down in the process. Harte stepped forward to score from the penalty spot before running to the dug-out to embrace Kidd. If that had been practised on the training ground, it was probably the best move of the night.

Guardian Service

LEEDS: Martyn, Kelly, Ferdinand, Matteo, Harte, Smith, Bakke, Batty, Kewell (Keane 80), Fowler, Viduka. Subs Not Used: Robinson, Dacourt, Wilcox, Duberry. Booked: Batty. Goals: Fowler 46, Harte 78 pen.

IPSWICH: Marshall, Wilnis, Hreidarsson, McGreal, Clapham, Venus, George (Tommy Miller 85), Holland, Magilton, Armstrong (Counago 79), Stewart (Marcus Bent 79). Subs Not Used: Sereni, Bramble. Booked: McGreal, Marshall, Wilnis.

Referee: D Gallagher (Oxfordshire).