FA Cup Leeds 1-1 Birmingham

Luciano Becchio was Leeds’ saviour once more as his second-half goal against Birmingham kept Leeds in the FA Cup. The in-form Argentine scored his 19th goal of the season on the hour to cancel out Wade Elliott’s opener and keep Leeds in with a chance of making the fourth round, although a replay was the last thing either manager wanted. Both Neil Warnock, absent through sickness, and City counterpart Lee Clark have long injury lists to deal with and could have done without another game. The goals were the only real high points on an otherwise forgettable afternoon, with clear-cut chances at a premium. The visitors took the lead on 33 minutes after Elliott finished a surge forward with a blistering 25-yard drive. Nathan Redmond might have extended their lead but his shot went narrowly over, and the near-miss soon came back to haunt City as Becchio found his range on the hour, neatly slotting under Doyle after David Norris showed good feet to send him clear.Leeds coach Mick Jones said: “We spoke to the manager on loudspeaker at half-time and he made the decision to change the team based on what he heard on the radio coverage he was listening to.“We’ve had a lot of illness and had to sit some players out. “We’re hoping that we will be clear by the time we get back to the league games.” The game, a pretty dismal affair in front of just 12,000 fans at Elland Road, was marred by a serious leg injury to Birmingham’s Will Packwood who collapsed under an aerial challenge. “Will Packwood’s early diagnosis is a break to both tibia and fibula,” said Blues boss Clark. “His young team-mates were in bits, in tears on the pitch. We will give him the best care possible and look after him. I heard the snap and it was a right downer. Even experienced Leeds players like Michael Brown told me it was horrendous.

Somma back in the frame at Leeds

Davide Somma is expected to be fit for the start of pre-season and will return to the training pitch with a vote of confidence from the club's assistant manager, Mick Jones.The Yorkshire Evening Post report that the South African international appears to be winning his battle against the knee injury which required two operations and forced him to miss the whole of this season.Somma suffered cruciate ligament damage in the early stages of Leeds’ last pre-season programme and saw his hopes of an on-schedule comeback ended when Leeds sent him for a fresh bout of surgery in March.The 27-year-old was expected to play a major role in the 2011-12 campaign having broken into Leeds United’s first team during the previous year but his recent set-back left him fighting to be ready for the opening day of the forthcoming Championship term.
Manager Neil Warnock revealed that Somma is on course to take part in pre-season, which begins provisionally for Leeds on July 4 and in earnest on July 11, and he admitted that Jones had identified much to admire in the striker’s game.
Warnock said: “Mick loves him. I’ve not seen a lot of him but Mick has and he loves him.
“But you just don’t know when you’ve had injuries like that. When you’ve been out for the length of time he has it’s difficult to predict if a player can sustain the top level of Championship football.”