Date: Tuesday, 3^rd October 1995.

Venue: Meadow Lane, Nottingham.

Competition: League Cup Second Round, Second Leg.

Score: Notts County 2 Leeds United 3

Scorers: Notts County: White (2, 1 pen). Leeds United: McAllister, Couzens, Speed.

Attendance: 12,477.

Teams:

Notts County: Ward; Short, Walker, Strodder, Legg; Murphy, Gallagher, Galloway, White; Arkins (Jemson), Agana. Unused Subs: Hunt, Hoyle.

Leeds United: Lukic; Kelly, Couzens; Palmer, Beesley, Wetherall; Deane, Tinkler (Worthington), Yeboah, McAllister (Wallace), Speed. Unused Sub: Masinga

Referee: Mr A. B Wilkie (Chester-le-Street).

Gary Speed’s eye for a League Cup goal, edged United into the Third Round at Notts County’s expense, but not before some suicidal defensive work had manager Howard Wilkinson almost tearing his hair out in angry frustration. Twice United took the lead, through Gary McAllister and then Andy Couzens, but twice they allowed County to come back at them with goals from Devon White, before Gary Speed, with just seconds remaining thundered in a twenty-two yard shot.

Manager Howard Wilkinson was scathing after the game, when it was put to him that they had made heavy work of their win. “Well you do if you defend like clowns. We had enough of the ball to win two matches, but each time we got our noses in front we committed crucial errors. But at the end of the day we got the result and we scored three great goals into the bargain. There have been occasions in the past in this competition, when we have played better than we did tonight and lost,” he said.

It all started so well for United with Gary McAllister opening his goal-scoring account for the season when he fired United ahead in the nineteenth minute after Brian Deane headed on a Gary Speed throw-in. It left County keeper to pick the ball out of the net for the first time in four matches against United, having twice kept a clean sheet when he had been with Mansfield Town when they had provided the opposition to United in the same round of the same competition the previous season as well as the Elland Road leg of the present campaign.

United’s joy was short-lived as Devon White sent John Lukic the wrong way from the spot, after the towering striker had been fouled by David Wetherall. Gary McAllister had taken a knock early on, but soldiered on until half-time when he was replaced by Rod Wallace, who was returning from injury, and Gary Speed took the captain’s armband. With Deane working well, Andy Couzens running himself into the ground and Gary Speed leading his men by energetic example, United looked ready to take control. When County lost their skipper Gary Strodder for two yellow cards on the hour, it seemed just a matter of time before the United dominance told on the score-sheet.

United could quite easily have gone in arrears, however, as it took a superb save from John Lukic to deny Vince Arkins from close range. Nevertheless, it was United who did regain the lead through Andy Couzens, whose hard work merited his first goal ever for United as he fired home a twelve-yard shot from a Tony Yeboah left wing centre in the seventy-fourth minute. The cheers for Couzen’s first senior goal had hardly died down, when Devon White, who had used his height and strength to good effect all night, latched on to a through ball from Tony Agana and held off Paul Beesley to score with a firm low angled shot.

Extra-time was looming large until Gary Speed took up possession, and made good ground before unleashing a blistering twenty-two yard left foot shot past Darren Ward with only seconds remaining.