It was Billy Bremner's day at Elland Road yesterday, and it therefore stood to reason that it should be Leeds United's as well.
On the weekend of the 10th anniversary of Bremner's passing, a capacity crowd acknowledged the legend born in Scotland but bred in the heart of Leeds in the way that modern day football knows best, with a simple and heartfelt round of applause.
* Click here for a picture slideshow of match action from the Leeds United v Huddersfield Town game.The tribute honoured a man of unique talent and personality, and one who is virtually peerless around Elland Road. The city of Leeds vowed never to forget, and has held rigidly to that promise.
It was, however, with an impeccable sense of occasion that yesterday's West Yorkshire derby against Huddersfield Town was settled in United's favour with the help of a midfielder carrying Bremner's iconic number four on his back.
A first-half goal from Jonathan Douglas – the modern-day holder of Bremner's famous shirt – set Leeds on the path to a commanding victory in the first league fixture between the clubs for two decades, and gave Elland Road the result that the bulk of a crowd of 32,501 had turned out to see.
The outcome would have mattered to Bremner. These days, Dennis Wise takes just as much pride in the success of the club. By the time Tore Andre Flo rounded off the victory in the 87th minute, Wise's name was also resounding around Elland Road.
The past and present of Leeds United were thus satisfied.
A 4-0 scoreline at the end of a derby can be construed as a massacre, and Huddersfield's players were desperate to make their escape at the final whistle.
But as United ran away with the game during the second half, it was easy to forget the contribution that Town had made to the start of a breathless encounter, and how different the outcome might have been had their best chance not been squandered in the second minute.
Leeds scored when it mattered; Huddersfield, repeatedly, had no reply.
United's preparation was unquestionably better than the build-up experienced by Andy Ritchie.
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