Sponsored by
Carlisle United v Leeds United: Howson on Cumbrian mission
Brunton Park is not the average footballer's venue of choice but for Jonathan Howson the home of Carlisle United has a certain resonance.
Howson cannot cross the stadium's threshold without giving some thought to what was and still is the finest hour of his short career. As the past 18 months have proved, his magical evening in Cumbria was always likely to take some beating.
In a sense, the midfielder's performance in the second leg of a wonderful play-off semi-final seems like yesterday. In another, he can see no point in harking back to it.
A year and a half has passed since Howson's injury-time goal gave Leeds safe passage to Wembley.
The date was May 15, 2008 and United were at the point of no return, 2-1 down after the semi-final's first leg and aware that their season would stand or fall on the result at Brunton Park.
Howson's brace – two of only 14 goals he has scored for Leeds – was the pinnacle of the 2007-08 season and the sum of his finest individual display.
But he will fight off nostalgia when he returns to Carlisle tonight in similar circumstances but with very different stakes. It was never his intention to be renowned for a single appearance in one of English football's outposts.
"That stayed with me for quite a while," Howson said. "It felt special at the time and I guess it still is. Everyone knows what it meant to me but I don't think about it much any more.
"A lot of water's gone under the bridge and it's almost two years ago. You can't dwell on single matches and it's frustrating to think that we're still in the same division that we were back then.
"it was a great moment for me, but if we're talking about the season as a whole then the only thing that mattered was us losing the play-off final. In the end the night at Carlisle meant nothing, brilliant though it was. I realised that when we lost at Wembley.
"I've changed as a player and I've grown up a bit more as well. This is a totally different game."
That much is true. United's entire season depended on their second leg at Brunton Park in 2008, a do-or-die fixture which offered no second chances.
Tonight's Johnstone's Paint Trophy northern area final is nicely balanced with Carlisle again leading 2-1 after 90 minutes at Elland Road but it would stretch credibility to pretend that the consequences of failure tonight are comparable.
There is a train of thought in Leeds which says United's prolonged involvement in cup competitions has done more damage to their season than good.
That is a matter of opinion and Simon Grayson, United's manager, does not share it. Neither does Howson.
Minor though the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy would seem when set against United’s historical honours, the 21-year-old can see no justification for giving up on a competition which has almost reached its end-game.
The incentive tonight is an appearance at Wembley in the trophy’s final on March 28, a match which will involve either MK Dons or Southampton.
The last leg of the tournament’s southern section will also be played out this evening and a future meeting between Leeds and Southampton would bring together two clubs who are averaging home crowds in excess of 20,000 this season.
There is a chance for the final to deliver the showpiece which the Football League would love it to be.
“It’s not our priority but that doesn’t mean we’re not bothered about it,” Howson said. “We’ve been committed to winning it right from the start, just the same as promotion.
“It’s a chance to play at Wembley and the chance to lift a trophy – I think that matters. It’s not going to mean much if we don’t get out of League One but there’s no reason why we can’t do both.
“I’ve been asked loads of times if I’m bothered (about the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy) and I mean it when I say I am.
“I don’t think players can pick and choose which games are important and which aren’t. You’re paid to win every game you play in.”
Nothing less than victory will do this evening, unless United’s run in the trophy is to end one step short of Wembley.
Joe Anyinsah’s 85th-minute header saw to it that Carlisle left Elland Road with a one-goal advantage on January 19 and unlike the play-off semi-final of 2008 when the latest of goals from Dougie Freedman breathed life into Leeds, the Cumbrian club travelled home last month with a feeling that the momentum was theirs.
Nevertheless, their manager is cautious. Greg Abbott was part of the coaching staff at Carlisle two years ago and was quick to mention his experience of two-legged ties against Leeds when it was suggested that his side held the initiative.
Carlisle have won only one of five games since, a victory earned through an injury-time goal at Exeter City and tonight’s match will bring together two teams afflicted by modest form, one fighting to protect second place in League One and the other attempting to keep daylight between themselves and the bottom four.
Grayson’s job has been to lift his players from a late concession at Hartlepool United on Saturday, when a 2-1 victory was snatched from their grasp at the death.
“It’s a hard result to take,” Howson said. “I think it makes a good performance against Carlisle all the more important.
“People talk about winning breeding confidence and it does. You feel more positive with good results behind you and this is our chance to put the Hartlepool result right.
“I’m confident that we can.”
phil.hay@ypn.co.uk
Email to a friend
Print this page- Leeds United: Whites ponder next move in hunt for new manager LATEST
- Web poll: Who is to blame for Leeds United’s league position? VOTE HERE
- Leeds United: Time for Ken Bates and Co to listen up
- Leeds man remanded on sister murder charge UPDATED
- Leeds United: Aston Villa boss drops hint on Fabian Delph
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Leeds
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 0 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North west
