26-07-99: Whitby Town (a) 2-1 (HT 2-0) Crowd (1,452)

Paul Pitman

Profile:

Nicknamed "Yakka", Paul Pitman joined Whitby in 1988 for £1,000, making four hundred and forty-two starts and a further forty-two appearances from the bench in his twelve year association with the club. He is the club's record appearance holder and also tops the goalscoring charts with three hundred and seventy eight in all competitions.In the 1995-96 season he scored an incredible sixty goals, a feat that is not likely to be equalled. He left the club at the end of the 1999-2000 season.

Paul Robinson was soon in action, preventing Whitby's Graham Robinson from opening the scoring. United also had their own spells of dominance but failed to worry Campbell in the home goal. the first real chance fell to Paul Pitman but he ballooned the ball over the bar when well placed midway through the first half. It was Leeds new signing Michael Bridges that opened the scoring in the thirty-seventh minute when he got in a looping header from an Alan Maybury cross from the right, after thirty-seven minutes. Wes Boyle, who had replaced the injured Bruno Ribeiro, after thirteen minutes, was linking up well with Stephen McPhail and had a shot well saved just before United increased their lead a minute before half-time. It was Matthew Jones who got the goal with a low shot from twelve yards, which gave the keeper no chance. United made a double substitution at half-time, with Eirik Bakke replacing Alf-Inge Haaland at Right Half and Kevin Dixon came on for Wesley Boyle at Inside Left. On the hour Damian Lynch replaced Stephen McPhail, but this backfired as Eirik Bakke had to go off injured after seventy minutes and Leeds faced the final twenty minutes with only ten men. They managed to restrict Whitby to a single goal, from a dubious Paul Pitman penalty, and win the game 2-1. Naisbett remained unused on the Leeds bench.

Programme:

Match Pictures: Courtesy Mark Ledgard

Match Report: Courtesy Mark Ledgard