Via Leeds Road to Huddersfield

By Mark Rasdall

Like all Leeds United fans up and down the country and across the world, I am really looking forward to tomorrow's game between Huddersfield Town and Leeds.
 
As it's a 12.30 kick-off I'll also hopefully be able to enjoy Sky's Gillette Soccer Special on the TV in the afternoon all the more. It's no kind of substitute for not being there but does provide a great background accompaniment to a lot of my Saturday afternoons when I can't afford to travel to games. It's always gut wrenching though when Jeff Stelling announces a 'late goal' or 'dramatic equaliser' before the scores appear on the teleprinter isn't it?
 
I grew up listening to football commentaries on a huge black wireless in my bedroom. Nobody else was really interested in football in our house so the wireless became my second best friend after LUFC. I can remember listening to the results from a match back in October, 1970, when Leeds United beat
Huddersfield 2.0 at Elland Road. That season was of course doomed to disappointment in League and Cup but I wasn't to know that then and was still drying my young tears over the treble failure of the spring. Our 0.0 draw at the old Leeds Road ground in Huddersfield in front of what is still their record home crowd of 43,011 on 12th April 1971 ultimately cost us the league again that year, although most LUFC supporters are more likely to remember, darkly, the 'Ray Tinkler' loss to West Brom at home five days later.

Of course Huddersfield haven't been in the top flight since those early 'Seventies days and their most famous exploits occurred in the 1920's just after our club was born. In 1926, they became the first English team to win three successive league titles, which no other team has bettered. We still had forty years to wait before Don Revie came along and put our neighbours well and truly in the shade.

A week in football has made a huge difference to our expectations and we can look back and forward as much as we like. Tomorrow is a West Yorkshire derby and, as they say, the form books can go out of the window. I'd be happy with a draw though we all know that we should be able to push on for a win.

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