Leeds United 1 Birmingham City 1: Pearce is aiming for extended run to help lift United

Jason Pearce, stand-in captain as Leeds United came from behind to force a replay against Birmingham City, admits the wide range of emotions often stirred by the world’s oldest knockout trophy have largely passed him by.

There was his winning goal for League Two Bournemouth in 2008 that accounted for Bristol Rovers, but even then the second round brought an upset for the Cherries against non-League Blyth Spartans.

At 25 years old, therefore, Pearce is understandably ready to redress that lack of FA Cup success with Leeds this term.

“This competition hasn’t been too good to me, to be fair,” said the United defender when asked by the Yorkshire Post about his personal highlight in the Cup.

“I can’t even think of my best run in it. At Bournemouth, I scored the winner against Bristol Rovers one year.

“But apart from that, there hasn’t been too much to write home about. That is why it would be good to do well this season, just as we did in the Capital One Cup.

“That run to the quarter-finals as we beat Everton and Southampton brought the lads together and it helped us in the league. We want to do the same again.

“Personally, I love the FA Cup. As a neutral, you always want the underdogs to win and then when you play against the underdogs for a team like Leeds you have to really up your game because it is their cup final.

“That is why I love the Cup. As a player you definitely want a run and we will go to Birmingham for the replay determined to do that.”

If Leeds are to progress to the fourth round for what will be only the second time in 10 years, their performance will have to be more on a par with the second-half efforts against Lee Clark’s Blues than the opening 45 minutes.

United may have struck a post through Pearce’s header during that first half but it was Birmingham who looked the much livelier outfit in attack.

The pace of Nathan Redmond and Ravel Morrison up front played a big part in that bright start for the visitors, while a midfield containing Chris Burke and Wade Elliott out wide was always going to prove a threat.

So it proved with Elliott opening the scoring with a stunning strike on 32 minutes that bore more than a passing similarity to his winner in the 2009 Championship play-off final for Burnley against Sheffield United.

Collecting the ball on halfway, Elliott took advantage of no Leeds player being in his immediate 
vicinity to run unchallenged before unleashing an unstoppable 25-yard shot that arrowed into the corner of the net.

The goal was no more than Birmingham deserved with the visitors having already tested Jamie Ashdown in the Leeds goal several times in the opening half hour.

Elliott missed perhaps the best of those openings when fluffing a volley just six yards out, though Morgaro Gomis should also have done better with a low shot that Ashdown saved comfortably.

Even after falling behind, United continued to live dangerously before the break with Paul Robinson’s run only being ended by a last-gasp tackle from Pearce and then Morrison being guilty of a poor touch when played in by 
Elliott.

Leeds boss Neil Warnock, listening on the radio at home due to being too ill to attend with the virus that last week decimated his squad, had heard enough and was quickly on the phone to coach Ronnie Jepson and assistant manager Mick Jones at half-time.

The upshot was the ineffective pair of Ryan Hall and Aidan White being withdrawn and replaced by El-Hadji Diouf and Sam Byram.

The transformation was evident as soon as the second half got under way with it taking just four minutes for Luciano Becchio to be played through by an incisive pass from Ross McCormack.

With eight goals in his previous nine appearances, the in-form Argentinian seemed certain to equalise only to opt for a left-foot shot when the situation demanded he use his right and Colin Doyle made the save.

Lesser players may have brooded over such a glaring miss, but not Becchio who, on the hour, collected a pass from David Norris before drilling a shot home under Doyle.

Birmingham lost 19-year-old Will Packwood with a broken fibula and tibia, which will rule him out for the rest of the season after an accidental collision with Becchio soon after the equaliser and play was held up for five minutes while he was taken away on a stretcher.

Both sides then had chances to win the tie, but neither could apply the finishing touch to ensure Lee Clark maintained his Indian sign over Leeds.

In six games as manager of Huddersfield Town or Birmingham, the one-time England international is yet to lose.

Three of those half-dozen matches have ended in Clark’s team winning and, on Saturday’s evidence, Leeds will have all on to prevent the Blues manager making it a magnificent seven a week tomorrow night.

United’s stand-in captain Pearce added: “The main thing is we are in the hat for the next round.

“It was a tough game as Birmingham came here and played some good stuff. We were disappointed at half-time with our performance and the lads were a little quiet.

“But Jeppo and Mick spoke to the gaffer (on the telephone) and made a couple of changes. Obviously, we missed the manager but they both kept it simple in his absence and they both know how he thinks.

“We showed a bit of pride and determination in the second half to get back into it.

“We could have won it in the end, though a draw was probably a fair result.”

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