15-01-85: Aston Villa (h) 1-3 (HT 1-1) Crowd (1,781)

The Villa team showed several changes from the programme, with David Norton at Right Back for Colin Gibson, who moved up to Inside Left in place of Gordan Cowans, who in turn dropped to the bench. Dean Glover played instead of Gary Williams at Right Half. There were wholesale changes from the United team as per the programme, which showed a line up of: Phil Hughes; Denis Irwin, Gary Hamson; Scott Sellars, Neil Aspin, Martin Dickinson; Tommy Wright, John Sheridan, Peter Swan, John Stiles Frank Gray and Mark Gavin (sub). After sixty-six minutes Lyndon Simmonds replaced Outside Right George McCluskey and John Donnelly replaced Peter Lorimer at Inside Left for Leeds, while four minutes earlier Villa brought on Gordan Cowans at Inside Right for Paul Birch and in the eighty-first minute Darren Bradley replaced Colin Gibson at Inside Left. The Referee was J. McAuley of Crossgates, Leeds

Programme:

Match Action: Courtesy Mark Ledgard

John Sheridan puts Leeds ahead. George McCluskey fires in a fierce shot and Leeds fans at the match.

Match Report by David Hopps: Courtesy Mark Ledgard

If only Leeds had played in white...

Leeds United 1 Aston Villa 3

About five million people bought the Band Aid pop single in response to the Ethiopian Famine Appeal. Last night Leeds United and Aston Villa did their bit, on a rather smaller scale as only 1,781 spectators braved temperatures around freezing at Elland Road for this charity match. The bleak scene could hardly have been more unreal. At first glance it was more reminiscent of hockey than soccer-ice hockey, considering the white surface, a hockey international on the terraces where hundreds of school children, guests of the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Coun. Douglas Gabb, sang in a slightly higher key than normal. In truth, undersoil heating ensured the pitch was in perfect shape, the ball ran freely despite the covering of snow and both sides, realising they might not get another match for weeks, produced a respectable work rate. Leeds proved that, as they took the lead five minutes before half-time. Swan rose well to head on Aspin's ball down the right. Dickinson accelerated through from full back to cross and Sheridan, stealing in from midfield, had time to trap the ball before sliding it past Spink. Sheridan's balance stood out through a net curtain of falling snowflakes and Aspin and Withe looked willing enough to contest possession in a snowdrift. But as the lights of the gritting lorries flashed by the ground, so ensuring a safe journey home for the Lord Mayor and his entourage, Hughes found life was more hazardous for goalkeepers. McMahon's shot squirmed out of his grasp and Gibson, free on the left, scored from six yards. Villa, grasping the opportunity for match practice had named the side intended to meet Watford last Saturday and they took the lead after forty-eight minutes, when Gibson headed his second from Dorigo's cross. Interest for Leeds centred on their debutants-Stiles, a midfield player, and Swan, centre half for the reserves, but slipping in alongside McCluskey last night. It would be unfair to judge them in such conditions, as it would a third debutant, who came on as substitute with Donnelly midway through the second half. Both wore a No. 14 shirt. Simmonds, the junior partner, had the short-sleeved one. Walters, increasingly dangerous down the left, missed an excellent chance before crossing for McMahon to head in from almost on the line and stretch Villa's lead fifteen minutes from time. With proceeds divided between the Lord Mayor's Ethiopian Famine Appeal, the Royal commonwealth Society for the Blind and selected local charities, Frank Gray captured the charitable mood three minutes later as he allowed Spink to save his gently-struck penalty. Leeds, canary yellow shirts glinting against the snow, should have played in white. They would have been unstoppable.