Having put in a tremendous performance against local rivals Clifford the previous week, Wigton faced undoubtedly their toughest fixture to date of an already tough opening set of fixtures this season.
Unfortunately, it was a game to quickly forget. Despite a bright opening spell from Wigton in which the Leeds City keeper was forced into a good save from a well struck free kick by Darryl Bedeau, Wigton struggled to create anything else of note in an attacking form during the entire game.
After a relatively cagey first 30 minutes during which neither team had managed to create any decent passages in play Wigton began to self implode as unrest between a number of players began to set in. As on previous occasions last season a lack of togetherness began to creep into the Wigton ranks which the Leeds City team quickly siezed on as they began to apply some pressure as the half wore on.
The opening goal of the game dissapointingly came from a Wigton attack when the move broke down in the Leeds City penalty area as a misplaced pass was intercepted and a quick counter attack launched. Unfortunately, Wigton were unable to hold out further till half time as Leeds City doubled their lead in the dying seconds of the half. Wigton failed to clear their lines and Leeds City were able to play the ball across the face of goal for an unmarked Leeds City player to slot into an unguarded net.
A tactical change at half time failed to breath life into the Wigton cause and matters were compounded further as first Thomo then Bedders were replaced in midfield due to injuries. Leeds City put the game beyond reach as they extended their lead further following a goal mouth scramble midway through the half.
Despite Leeds City being a formidable outfit in what was always likely to be a tough fixture, Wigton failed to do themselves justice as they turned in what was arguably their worst performance of the season. The lack of communication was none more so evident than in this game with only a few voices being heard as the game wore on, a fact made more dissapointing given that this was one of the main positives to come out the previous week's performance against Clifford.
Despite some dissapointing results the team has, at some point in each game, dominated passages of play and put some good attacking passing moves together however it was not the case in this game. The Leeds City keeper being testimony to this as he was a spectator for the entire game with the exception of Darryl's early free kick.
Next up is Ripon City where the Gaffa will be looking for an improvement in the teams level of communication and ability to move the ball at a high tempo with short, sharp passes...!
On a final note, it needs to be reiterated that despite only taking 1 point from the opening 3 league fixtures, those games have been against the top 3 teams in the divison as the table stands.
