Trio fight to get fit
Leeds United were today nursing battered bodies ahead of their visit to Leyton Orient tomorrow after surviving a bruising contest at Colchester United on Saturday.
The Elland Road club recorded their fifth League One win in a row, claiming victory with the only goal of a combative game from Luciano Becchio, but manager Simon Grayson is assessing the cost of the result to his in-form team.
Stand-in captain Richard Naylor left Colchester's Community Stadium with several stitches in his head after sustaining a nasty cut midway through the second half and Grayson has further doubts over midfielders Neil Kilkenny and Robert Snodgrass.
Kilkenny injured his ankle while Snodgrass, who missed training on Friday with an ankle problem, sustained damage to one of his toes and Leeds were analysing their fitness today in the hope of having all three players available for tomorrow night's game at Orient.
United are enjoying their strongest run of league form this season after nine games without defeat and five straight wins and their match at Brisbane Road is an opportunity to finally cut the lead held over them by second-placed Peterborough United.
Peterborough snatched a late 2-1 win at Oldham on Saturday to keep Leeds at arms length in the fight for automatic promotion, but United's defeat of Colchester was another convincing display and Grayson is hoping to avoid the need for wholesale changes in north London.
United's boss said: "We've got one or two who are battered and bruised.
"Neil Kilkenny's got an ankle injury, Richard Naylor needed a few stitches and Robert Snodgrass has picked up a knock as well, but you have to get in amongst teams and compete.
"If other teams want to mix it up and get in our faces then we have to be able to do that as well. When we get the chance to play then we will, but we have to win the battle as well.
"We're managing to combine both at the moment.
"We'll train, recuperate and see what we've got (for the game at Orient) but the lads who are injured will be desperate to play. If they don't, the players who are out of the team will be desperate to come in."
Grayson has proven alternatives for every one of his injured players should Naylor, Snodgrass or Kilkenny fail to recover in time, but United's manager would be reluctant to break up a confident and improving team.
Becchio's 29th-minute goal was enough to seal victory at Colchester and a strong defensive performance during a second half in which the hosts created no chances of note convincingly protected their narrow lead.
Becchio has operated in the shadow of United's leading scorer Jermaine Beckford this season, scoring 16 goals to Beckford's 31, but he took centre stage on Saturday with a sharp finish which settled a tight match.
Grayson said: "His goal was very good and he's getting the rewards he's due because he's worked ever so hard for the team.
"His all-round performance in the last few weeks has been exceptional and he scored with some good quality. He deserved that goal because he's been a handful."
The sole frustration for Grayson was the news that all three of United's main rivals for automatic promotion – Peterborough, Millwall and MK Dons – mustered victories on Saturday, Peterborough's coming four minutes from time at Oldham.
Grayson said: "You have to give credit to the teams around us because they're not slipping up. We're concentrating on what we're doing and if other teams keep winning then so be it.
"I'd have liked us to play better (at Colchester), keep the ball better, to have moved it around and created more chances in the second half, but sometimes you have to be organised and accept a 1-0 win.
"That's what we've done and we were very professional. We were looking for a second or third goal but we didn't want to give anything away."
YEP
