Leeds 3 Oxford 0

By James Dielhenn

Tuesday 28th August 2012
Capital One Cup Round Two
Elland Road, Att: 13,798

Leeds    3   -   0    Oxford

                                                               Austin  27'
                                               Byram  33'
                                               Lees   73

Team: Ashdown, Lees, Kisnorbo, Pearce, Drury, Byram, Brown, Austin, White, Diouf, Becchio
Subs: Kenny, Peltier (on for Byram 90), Thompson (on for Austin 84), Poleon (on for Diouf 76), Varney, McCormack, Becchio

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Neil Warnock rang the changes for the visit of Oxford in the cup and was rewarded with solid displays from his fringe players.

Jamie Ashdown made his first appearance for Leeds in goal, but such was our dominance that he didn't have anything serious to do. 6

Tom Lees retained his place in the team but reverted to right-back. He didn't bomb on down the wing too much but was defensively solid. He scored his second goal of the season with a good header. It would really be helpful if Lees could develop a habit of getting into scoring positions. 7

Patrick Kisnorbo was given a chance at centre-back after another long-term injury. It was a nice, slow game to get him back into the swing of things. Kisnorbo did alright, clearing everything that went near him, but his pace and agility was never questioned by Oxford. 6

Jason Pearce played next to Kisnorbo and put in his customary commanding performance. Again, he wasn't troubled much. 7

Adam Drury played left-back and put forward his case to retain that position once again. He played well. 6

Sam Byram could develop into a real star this season. Playing right wing, he was full of pace and energy and had a really good game. The goal he scored was simply brilliant. 8

Michael Brown came into the team and played in a holding midfield role. Things were easy for Brown and he just kept the game ticking over with short passes around midfield. 6

Rodolph Austin was given a different role. With Brown as the defensive midfielder, Austin was given freedom to burst forward and rewarded his manager with a goal. It was a thunderous finish and he also hit the bar from 30 yards. Austin will have given Warnock food for thought with this performance. 8

Aidy White returned to the squad and did a solid job down the left wing. He looked a class apart at times. White owed his manager a performance after a slow start to the season. 7

El Hadji Diouf played just off the target man, up-front. He still hasn't signed a permanent deal but the standing ovation that he received when he was subbed should convince him to stay. Diouf was excellent, playing in a position where his footballing intelligence was too much for inferior opposition. He doesn't get into scoring opportunities much but his creativity was top drawer. 8

Andy Gray did a good job of holding the ball up and creating room for his team-mates. He didn't really have a proper chance to shoot and will face harder tests if he is to be Leeds' first striking option on the bench. 6
 
A professional display. Maybe Warnock will have learnt something about his squad tonight.

Neil Warnock Post Match:

"You won't see two better goals than the two in the first half. Sam will probably never score another goal like that in his career though Rodolph probably will! I was pleased for Tom Lees that he scored too.

"It is a gamble when you make six changes. I wanted to rest (strikers) Luciano Becchio and Ross McCormack because we have an important game against Blackburn on Saturday and I am really looking forward to that."