Dour draw between Leeds and Villa

Leeds 0 Aston Villa 0

David O’Leary made his long-awaited return to Leeds, but was forced to settle for a share of the spoils with the man he once pushed to one side at Elland Road.

O’Leary saw his Aston Villa side claim a point from a dour goalless draw against a Leeds team in the caretaker charge of Eddie Gray whose side are now unbeaten in their last five Premiership matches.

But anybody expecting some post-Christmas sparkle will have been sadly disappointed for while there was endeavour, there was little entertainment, with O’Leary likely to have been more satisfied with the outcome.

For a man many feel played his part in Leeds’ demise, a fair number of the fans can still forgive O’

Leary his sins bearing in mind he took the club to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup and Champions League.

But O’Leary played his part in a £100m (€142.6m) spending spree which has pushed Leeds to the brink of administration, while few can forget his decision to write a book which split the club at a time when the Whites were riding high.

When you add in the fact O’Leary is continuing to claim £3.7m (€5.3m) in compensation following his sacking 18 months ago, and will continue to do so until the summer of 2005, then the warm response from Leeds supporters came as a surprise.

He was initially cheered by the majority of a 300-strong Leeds contingent who had gathered to greet him as he made his way off the Villa team coach, responding in kind with applause in return and a trademark clenched-fist salute.

It was the same again as he made his way out of the tunnel, albeit to the unusual surroundings of the opposing dugout, as further applause heralded the return of the 45-year-old.

The cheers grew in intensity, and O’Leary could have been fooled into thinking they were all for him, however, he was probably unaware Gray was just a few moments behind.

The Leeds fans then chanted the Scot’s name, making it clear where their allegiances lie as Gray was back on the sidelines after missing Monday’s 1-1 draw at Manchester City due to his daughter Natalie’s wedding.

Gray was the man O’Leary shunted sideways back in March 2001 in favour of employing Brian Kidd, who took on the role of head coach, while the 55-year-old retained his job title of assistant manager, but the position had lost its importance.

Gray has since made it clear O’Leary went down the wrong road, yet in this time of goodwill to all men, any hostilities seemed to be forgotten.

It was a pity such a truce was extended to the on-pitch action for the game was uninspiring as goalkeepers Paul Robinson and Thomas Sorensen were virtual bystanders.

On-loan Jermaine Pennant was the most prominent figure, not just from his right-wing role as the Arsenal player popped up in a number of positions, in particular making mazy runs which often tormented the visitors.

But Leeds lacked a cutting edge, mainly due to the limitations of the 4-5-1 line-up currently favoured by Gray, for while the defence has tightened up – and necessarily so with this only their second clean sheet in the last 17 matches, options are limited in attack.

It took a punt upfield from Robinson to give Leeds their only meaningful chance of the opening 45 minutes, with James Milner through on goal after getting in behind the Villa defence.

But with only Sorensen to beat, the 17-year-old completely mis-hit his shot, which allowed Sorensen to gather and O’Leary to breathe a sigh of relief.

For a moment, Villa appeared to have taken a 35th-minute lead when Juan Pablo Angel bundled over the line a Lee Hendrie left-wing free-kick to the far post, but one of Steve Bennett’s assistants clearly spotted the Colombian had used his right hand.

It was the same linesman who then flagged Michael Duberry for offside 10 minutes after the interval after the centre back had sidefooted home a Milner inswinger, also to the far post.

Leeds at least looked more of a threat in the second period, yet they struggled to break down a resilient Villa as only Alan Smith tested Sorensen in the 81st minute, with the Dane holding on well to a powerful, low 20-yard drive.

Robinson was well protected by his own defence, which included 19-year-old Matthew Kilgallon making his first Premiership start with Lucas Radebe now out for two months with a torn hamstring.

Gareth Barry drove high over the bar and Angel dragged one shot wide, but that was the sum total of Villa’s second-half efforts of a match which fairly ended honours even.