Addicks inflict more pain on 'injury'-hit United

United suffered their fifth straight defeat at the hands of Charlton Athletic this weekend, succumbing 2-1 to two late goals. The Whites were without six first-team players, includng top scorer Antenucci, who had all pulled out of the matchday squad with last minute 'injuries'.

The Mighty Whites fell to a fifth straight defeat this weekend at the Valley, but the result was overshadowed by six late player withdrawals from the matchday squad.

Goalkeeper Silvestri, as well as top scorer Antenucci, Bellusci, Del Fabro, Doukara and Cani all declared themselves unfit for the trip down south, even though the physio found them fit to train and play. Five of the six players were bought by Cellino, who seems to be taking more of an interest in destabilising the Redfearn regime since he secured Championship safety for the Whites.

Even without Antenucci and co Leeds started brightly, controlling much of the game before taking the lead in the 40th minute through an emphatic Steve Morison volley soon after Billy Sharp saw his penalty saved by Addick's keeper. Leeds continued to look like the better team throughout most of the match, encouraged by the ever-present away contingent. However their lead evaporated when Tony Watt was found unmarked at the back post to spectacularly volley past the stand-in keeper Stuart Taylor.

Taylor, who had played well all game, saved an initial effort before bringing down Charlton forward Vetokele in the 80th minute. Yoni Buyens converted the spot kick to give the Addicks the lead and Leeds could not bounce back before the final whistle.

It was, on the whole, a slight improvement for Leeds, who dominated for spells and created plenty of chances but were unable to turn these into goals. Neil Redfearn told the leedsunited.com, "I thought for large spells we played well, we just lost our way a bit". He added, "With momentum, when you're playing well, those chances go in. We could have been two-nil up and it would have been a different picture for them."

Unfortunately for the boys and the fans the miserable run continues, but with the result over-shadowed by the player withdrawal, Redfearn and co seem to have bigger problems on their plates. With boardroom and managerial instability hovering over the club as we head towards the end of the season, we can only be pleased that the club secured Championship safety earlier in the year and hopefully the rebuilding process for next season can start.

Marching on together. We're gonna see you wherever the hell we end up.

Up the Whites.

Matt Smith
The Football Network