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Carlisle United v Leeds United: We won't risk Becks - Grayson
Simon Grayson is hoping Jermaine Beckford will ease the disappointment of Leeds United's draw at Hartlepool by declaring himself fit for tomorrow's Johnstone's Paint Trophy showdown in Carlisle.
But the Leeds boss has warned he won't risk his leading marksman in Tuesday's northern area final second leg at Brunton Park if there is the slightest danger of aggravating the hamstring strain the 26-year-old suffered at Victoria Park.
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Beckford was substituted at half-time in Saturday's 2-2 stalemate, but the prolific hitman appears to have avoided a serious injury and could feature in Cumbria.
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The pacy frontman has suffered from hamstring problems before but Grayson said: "We're hopeful that he's going to be fit for tomorrow night.
"His hamstring was a little bit tight so we weren't going to run the risk of him being out for longer than he needs to be.
"If he's in any doubt then we won't play him (at Carlisle) because as much as it's a big incentive for the club to get to the final, we've got other players who can take his place. But he should be alright."
The northern area final is finely balanced following Carlisle's 2-1 victory at Elland Road in the first leg last month and both clubs are 90 minutes away from an appearance at Wembley on March 28.
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Antony Sweeney's dramatic injury-time header earned Hartlepool a 2-2 draw at Victoria Park and denied United their first league win away from home since the turn of the year into the bargain.
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Beckford was unable to add to his tally of 24 goals, the first time in six league appearances against Hartlepool that he has failed to find the net, and Argentinian striker Luciano Becchio took centre stage for Leeds by striking twice.
Becchio opened the scoring with a first-half header and looked to have won the game with a 78th-minute effort, but Sweeney's last-gasp goal left no time for Leeds to reclaim the lead for a third time.
United's disappointment at that late concession was eased by news of Norwich's defeat at the New Den and Charlton Athletic's failure to beat Swindon Town, leaving Phil Parkinson's team four points behind the second automatic promotion position and United just two points behind the Canaries.
Grayson's squad also have the advantage of two games in hand over both Norwich and Charlton, and the 40-year-old said: "We'd like to have seen the game through, but we've taken another point away from home. The other results have gone for us as well.
"We've got to realise that it's another step towards where we want to be and another game gone by. We're getting there, we're in a decent position and, though I'm disappointed, it's another good point away from home."
Grayson drew further encouragement from the performance of Becchio who has struggled to repeat the success of his first year in England.
The former Barcelona player scored 19 times last term but had produced only five this term before his effort against Tottenham on Wednesday.
He followed that goal with a clinical brace at Victoria Park, his reward for a highly effective performance.
"We've worked with him over the last couple of weeks to get him into thepenalty area a bit more," said United's boss.
"He seems to do too much work outside the box at times and that's probably affected his goalscoring opportunities. He's reaping the rewards now and he's back on track.
"People talk about Jermaine scoring all the goals for us and you do need others to help with that."
Hartlepool boss Chris Turner had no doubt his side deserved their point after twice fighting back.
"We could have had all three," Turner beamed. "The players picked themselves up magnificently."
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Weather for Leeds
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 1 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: West
