PompeyChicken brings you all the excitement of his BBC Radio Solent experience having spent the afternoon listening to the commentary from Elland Road of Leeds United versus Portsmouth with Andy Awford and Lawrence Herdman.
It was a misty, murky Elland Road with a large noisy, vociferous holiday crowd that greeted the two teams. Leeds were in all white and Pompey in all black.
The Pompey team had a number of changes from the starting line-up against Millwall on Boxing Day: Liam Lawrence, Michael Brown and Hermann Hreidarsson were all out, Carl Dickinson, Richard Hughes and Greg Halford returned to the starting line-up.
John Utaka missed a great early chance on 6 minutes, he was put through by Nugent, dinked the ball over the keeper Kasper Schmeichel but the ball missed the target and went wide, the sign of a player lacking confidence where it matters: in front of goal. It might have been a corner kick but the referee didn't give it.
Almost immediately the ball was at the other end of the pitch and Leeds were ahead. Halford switched off at the back and Gradel scored. Having had a fantastic opportunity to open the scoring Pompey found themselves 1-0 down.
Within 3 minutes matters got worse and Pompey found themselves 2-0 down. It was shambolic defending. The ball started with a long throw in the Leeds half, the Pompey defence wasn't 'locked-in' and Carl Dickinson missed his challenge on the advancing Howson who broke through into the box and scored.
After just ten minutes of play Pompey had a mountain to climb. Leeds had recorded two attacks and scored two goals.
Andy Awford asked if Dickinson had pulled out of the challenge on Howson to avoid another booking. It's possible, he was on four bookings coming in to the game. After this game the threshold for a ban would be raised to ten yellows.
Leeds were on an unbeaten run of ten games and Laurence Herdman commented that there had been many fans outside the ground when he arrived at midday. Those fans “really believe” according to Herdman and why wouldn't they with their team in such good form.
Dickinson was having a torrid time and needed to get tighter to Snodgrass who was causing him all sorts of problems down the right hand side and cutting in on his left foot. He also needed more support from his midfield colleagues. Snodgrass was in good form having scored in Leeds Boxing Day game against Leicester City.
Leeds were rampant and playing like a team who believed they can get in to the Premier League. Pompey were shell-shocked although occasionally finding a way forward. On 21 minutes Pompey had a wayward shot, Mokoena firing wide.
On 25 minutes it should have been three-nil to Leeds. Snodgrass, McCormack and Painter combining well only for Painter to somehow scoop his shot over the bar.
Andy Awford noted that there was lots of space in the midfield which remained unoccupied by Pompey players when they were attacking and had throw-ins. This space was being exploited by Leeds allowing them to surge forward quickly on the break.
Despite the home team's dominance Pompey were generating chances. Just before the half-hour, a Greg Halford free-kick was headed towards goal by Dave Kitson and the ball went out of play for a corner after it deflected off a Leeds defender. From the corner Kitson created another half-chance with an overhead kick which went over the bar.
Immediately afterwards, with Joel Ward down injured, Leeds played on and McCormack had a powerful shot which was saved by Ashdown.
Despite being at sixes and sevens at the back Pompey were starting to find their feet up front and Kitson had another header saved on the line. Leeds were sitting back and Pompey were having their best spell of the game with Utaka coming to life and Kitson more involved.
On 34 minutes David Nugent pulled a goal back with his eighth of the season. It was a great finish following good work by Hughes who won the ball in midfield, slipped it to David Nugent who smashed it in to the top corner. All the noise was now coming from the south west corner of the ground where over 1,000 Pompey fans who had made the trip to Yorkshire were gathered.
The goal gave Pompey something to build on. They had generated some good chances and Utaka, Kitson and Nugent had all done well. Leeds fans started to show a bit of concern.
Nugent has a good goal scoring record against Leeds. This was his best run of form since he joined Pompey.
On 37 minutes Pompey were fortunate to 'get away with one' as Mokoena looked to have handled the ball on the edge of the area. The ref didn't spot it.
It was a really good game now, a good advert for the Championship, despite the defending not being the best.
The Leeds fans don't like it when their team is up against it or the referee's decisions go against their team.
Pompey hadn't crumbled although they could have been three or four down.
It was now very gloomy at Elland Road.
On 43 minutes there was more good work from Snodgrass down the right flank, cutting in on to his favoured left foot, firing the ball across the face of goal where Mokoena very nearly headed it into his own net for a spectacular own goal. Fortunately he missed it.
It was an excellent game, especially for the neutral. Pompey had started on the back foot but come back in to it which was a common, recurring theme this season.
On 44 minutes with Pompey on the attack, Ward, Hayden Mullins and Halford all had good chances to cross the ball into the box, but didn't. When Halford finally did cross the ball it was a poor effort.
There had been lots of rain overnight in Leeds.
All around Elland Road were reminders of the great times gone by. Now Gradel was running forward looking like Eddie Gray in his pomp!
Richard Hughes was coming in to the game more and more, finding his feet. He had clearly been ring-rusty at the start after a long period out of the starting line-up, not doing the job he was brought in to do. Now, just before half-time he snuffed out a McCormack probe, doing what he does best: spoiling.
There were four added minutes.
Joel Ward was clearly limping following the early injury. Would it stiffen up at half time?
It had been an absorbing 45 minutes. Pompey got better as the half progressed and the goal gave them a lifeline after a poor start. The next goal would be absolutely massive.
HT Leeds United 2-1 Portsmouth
Pompey kicked off the second half with the Leeds anthem playing out in the background.
On 47 minutes Ashdown made an excellent save from Snodgrass, parrying the ball away. Snodgrass had gone past Dickinson like he wasn't there.
The temperature was just above zero but with undersoil heating at Elland Road there was no danger of the game falling foul of the weather.
Leeds had given away a two goal lead against Leicester City on Boxing Day, would they do the same here?
After the break Pompey were set up much better to defend breakaway attacks following their own corners.
The tannoy announced that there were over 31,000 fans at Elland Road.
On 54 minutes Richard Hughes signalled to the bench that Joel Ward had a problem, he wasn't moving too freely.
The conditions had become murky and a mist was swirling around Elland Road.
It was twenty years since Leeds last beat Pompey at Elland Road in the league.
On 59 minutes Kanu came on as substitute to replace the 21 year-old Joel Ward, Emsworth's finest. Pompey's formation changed to more of a 4-4-1-1 as opposed to a 4-3-3 as it had been.
Two minutes later Steve Cotterill made a second substitution, introducing Sonko for Ricardo Rocha. Andy Awford 'didn't get it' and wasn't sure about the decision. Rocha looked very disappointed to be coming off.
On 63 minutes Leeds extended their lead back to two goals when Bradley Johnson powered a volley past Ashdown to make it 3-1. The ball had fallen to Johnson just inside the box following a poor clearance from a corner. Ashdown couldn't keep it out, palming the powerful shot into the net, perhaps he could have done better.
They say that teams are vunerable just after scoring and a minute later Richard Hughes gave Pompey hope with a shot deflected into the net off former Pompey player Andy O'Brien, making it 3-2. Halford had broken down the right, playing it into the box where Kanu held it up with his back to goal for Hughes to shoot. It was a 'soft shot' but had enough power to find the back of the net.
You had to give credit to this Pompey team. They kept on battling, kept on having a go.
On 66 minutes Argentinian Luciano Bechio, who'd only been on as substitute for less than a minute, had a great chance to score with a header but Ashdown saved low down to concede a corner and a minute later Leeds had a 'goal' disallowed for a push on Jamie Ashdown. He didn't take the resulting free kick, perhaps indicating that he was carrying a knock.
On 68 minutes Snodgrass shot just wide, Dickinson was again left exposed by his own midfield.
It was still all to play for with action at both ends of the pitch. In the 74th minute Leeds had a very good penalty claim turned down by Mr Webb the referee, it was a needless challenge by Sonko as the Leeds player was going away from goal, but he got away with it. On 75 minutes Mullins had a shot which was smothered by Schmeichel.
Four minutes later Mokoena made two good clearances to stifle a Leeds attack. Pompey broke away from the resulting corner through Nugent and Utaka had a decent shot which was saved by Schmeichel.
On 80 minutes the Leeds fans were getting 'a bit edgy' with the game still very much in the balance. Gradel came off and Lloyd Sam came on to replace him.
On 84 minutes Nugent and McCartney had a 'spat' but it was just a 'handbags moment', there were no hands raised and the referee had a few words to both players disrupting the flow of the game unnecessarily perhaps.
The pitch was getting greasy as the temperature continued to drop and players were slipping over. Pompey needed to go for it and put the Leeds players under pressure.
Five minutes from time Snodgrass found himself free and should have passed to Bechio, who was well placed, but instead he went alone and blasted his shot over the bar.
Pompey continued to push forward in search of an equaliser with Sonko getting in to the penalty box. Richard Hughes had a powerful shot with his left foot as he broke into the box but Schmeichel made a brilliant save to deny him.
On 89 minutes Steve Cotterill made his last substitution bringing on Nadir Ciftci for John Utaka and in the 90th minute Kitson found himself bearing down on goal but Schmeicel cleared the ball.
There were five minutes of added time signalled by the fourth official. Andy Awford said he could sniff an equaliser and how right he was! In the third minute of added time Ciftci broke down the right flank and his cross was deflected into his own goal by Andy O'Brien coming across his keeper, making the score 3-3!
This game was a six goal Christmas cracker!
Leeds were now really edgy and almost immediately they conceded a corner following a very poor back pass that just went past the post.
Kitson and Schmeichel had a bit of a tustle with Kitson wrestling the keeper to the ground and picking up another yellow card which would mean a suspension for the Watford game on New Year's Day.
The wily Kanu tried to keep the ball in the corner to wind down the clock but was penalised and gave away a free kick. Leeds were going forward and Bechio was penalised for simulation, looking for a penalty (there was no booking though).
The whistle blew to bring to an end a fantastic game, what a match!
Portsmouth had rescued a massive point, they richly deserved it.
Another excellent commentary from Awford and Herdman.
Next up for Pompey, Watford on New's Year Day at Vicarage Road, kick off 5:20pm, live on Sky Sports.
FT Leeds United 3-3 Portsmouth
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