Leeds United 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday

Brian McDermott's first game in charge of Leeds United resulted in a hard-earned three points at home to Sheffield Wednesday, a result which saw the Whites end their run of defeats and ease ridiculous fears of relegation. Two headers from un-fancied frontman Luke Varney, I repeat, Luke Varney, sealed a 2-1 win over our hard-working, albeit fairly poor Yorkshire rivals. The visitors had taken the lead through Jermaine Johnson on 27 minutes but Varney's six minute rally was enough to give McDermott a perfect start.

In his first press conference as Leeds boss, the ex-Reading gaffer stated that he had come to Elland Road on "a lot of goodwill". An honest opinion if ever there was one; the "poisoned chalice" of Leeds United manager did not seem a fitting place for one of the most genuine and intelligent managers in English football. Inheriting a side struggling with injuries, suspensions and a severe lack of form, McDermott made two changes to the side that had lost at Charlton, bringing in Rodolph Austin for Tonge and Drury in for the injured Peltier, a move which saw Stephen Warnock move to centre-half. The visitors on the other hand were in sublime form; only high-flying Watford have won more games than the Owls since the turn of the year. Suspended "paedophile" Dave Jones made four changes from Tuesday's win at Millwall, bringing in Reda Johnson, Jermaine Johnson, Giles Coke and Stuart Holden for Olofinjana, Howard, Lee and Leeds loanee Danny Pugh.

Insert eggstremely generic egg comment here. 

In a stop-start first half littered with free-kicks, chances were few and far between, but Leeds were looking better and showing a much improved work-rate. They had the best opportunity of the opening stages but Steve Morison missed the ball completely from close range and didn't come any closer despite a few long-distance strikes from Rudy Austin. Despite looking fairly average, the visitors took the lead just before the half-hour mark after a combination of defensive errors. A Chris Kirkland goal-kick bounced straight over the  head of Jason Pearce and after Lita out-jumped Byram, Jermaine Johnson nipped in on the right side of Warnock to lob the ball into the back of the net. Once again, Leeds had conceded an avoidable goal out of nothing.

A reaction was needed and Leeds responded through two Ross McCormack free kicks, with the first headed off the line by Miguel Llera and the second headed wide by Pearce. Down the other end, Llera himself forced Paddy Kenny into a save with a free kick of his own. The half-time whistle signalled another first half completed without a Leeds goal and despite working hard, they hadn't tested Kirkland at all. Arguably the busiest man on the field was the referee who, for once, gave Leeds everything. The away side committed a number of fouls and were fairly lucky not to have been awarded an abundance of cards. Despite having his hair cut and no longer looking like Jesus, ex-Leeds favourite David Prutton worked miracles to not receive any sort of card after two reckless challenges on Norris and McCormack. Fellow centre-midfield partner Giles Coke was also fairly lucky not to be dismissed after two offences of a fairly similar nature. The first one saw him cautioned but the second one didn't warrant a second yellow card in the eyes of the referee. More entertaining than the first half of football was the race between the two physios after a clash involving Norris and David Prutton, or the sight Chris Kirkland struggling to take off his thermal top. Being a goalkeeper myself, I'll offer you some advice Chris. Its difficult to pull your jersey over your gloves. Take them off you tit.

Watch out for those fans Chris.

Aside from conducting himself impeccably, Brian McDermott is a deeply intelligent man and his undoubtedly harsh yet clever words at half time were sure to have been spoken in his usual soft tone. Whatever was said worked as Leeds came out in the second half and played better. It wasn't exactly like watching Brazil but was a vast improvement on the Dog and Duck style of football we've witnessed over the last month or so. Steve Morison completed a dire afternoon by failing to get a shot away after running in at goal un-challenged and it wasn't until the front-man was substituted that the deserved equaliser came. A rare moment of quality in the final third saw Ross McCormack deliver a fabulous cross that bounced down off the cross-bar and over the line after being nodded goalwards by Varney. Finally, Leeds had a slice of luck with the woodwork and with the momentum firmly with the home side, a winner looked likely. It came six minutes later with McCormack and Varney linking up in an identical fashion; the only difference this time was the cross-bar wasn't required as the well-placed header found the back of Kirkland's net. The roof lifted off Elland Road in a way that we haven't seen in a long time.

Turning round a 1-0 deficit was one half of the challenge, holding onto it was the next one. And Sheffield Wednesday made it very difficult, turning the screw and creating a host of chances. First, Steve Howard rolled back the years with an outstanding volley that clipped the outside of the post before Leroy Lita screwed a shot wide when one-on-one with Kenny. The pick of the chances however came from a scramble which saw Paddy Kenny make an outstanding double save before the ball was eventually hacked clear by Jason Pearce. However, it was to be Leeds and McDermott's day and the three points moved Leeds up to a respectable tenth...if only for a few hours.

Unlike many, I've never thought that the squad we have is the worst we've ever had. However, it is the least intelligent and by saying that I'm not suggesting that Jason Pearce couldn't tell me the square root of 549. I'm suggesting that there is no-one with a footballing brain, nobody that could pick a cute defence-splitting pass, nobody that would think to give a quicker player half a yard of space, just to name a few. Our lack of creativity, combined with an abundance of defensive errors is indicative of this lack of footballing brain. This could be about to change. Brian McDermott is the epitomisation of footballing intelligence.

He's also incredibly well-spoken. Everything he says is right. Everything he says fills you with confidence. He speaks with a voice softer than the Elland Road turf and with his head as shiny as Allan Clarke's F.A. Cup winners medal, how can you not love him? I realise I'm getting poetic, dreamy eyed and slightly gay here so I'll stop. He has a long, tough job ahead of him but so far, he hasn't put a foot wrong. In McDermott we trust.