Viduka strike sustains healing process for Leeds

Leeds United 2 Birmingham City

A goal in each half propelled a revitalised Leeds United side to their fourth victory in five matches, and for once it was achieved without the aid of the Premiership's latest teenage prodigy, James Milner.

The Leeds manager, Terry Venables, resisted the clamour to give the 16-year-old his first start, allowing him just 18 minutes at the end in which to enhance a reputation built on a goal in each of their last two games.

But by then Leeds had made safe a match Birmingham were never out of until Mark Viduka atoned for a string of missed chances by doubling his side's advantage midway through the second half.

The home side deserved the points but, just as they were never as bad as their dismal pre-Christmas run suggested, on this evidence they are not as good as their rapid climb back up the table suggests either.

Leeds went ahead as early as the sixth minute when their captain, Gary Kelly, floated a deep cross to the far post where Viduka beat Jeff Kenna in the air and knocked the ball across the face of goal for Eirik Bakke to head in his first Premiership goal of the season from close range.

They then began to play with a confidence born of recent results, producing neat and flowing one-touch football with the front runners Viduka, Harry Kewell and Alan Smith essaying little flicks and back heels that would have been unthinkable when Leeds were in free-fall a few weeks ago.

But it is a little early in the recovery process to start trying the sort of tricks associated with Don Revie's side of the 1970s, and with just one goal in the bank such touches sometimes bordered on over-confidence.

Even before the goal went in Birmingham were unlucky to be denied a penalty when Ian Harte seemed to trip Paul Devlin as he cut into the penalty area. The visitors, who are expected to complete the loan signing of the French international striker Christophe Dugarry today, also matched Leeds chance for chance, even if the visitors' opportunities owed as much to defensive errors as attacking flair.

Paul Robinson did well to turn Damien Johnson's snap shot from the edge of the box over the bar, and the same player saw Kelly kick his shot off the line after the Leeds goalkeeper had parried Clinton Morrison's effort. Leeds also took an age to scramble the ball to safety after Kewell had cleared off the line from the young defender Jonathan Hutchinson.

Viduka should have doubled Leeds' advantage when Kewell picked out his fellow Australian on the edge of the six-yard box with the goal at his mercy.

Then Kewell himself twice steered opportunities wide of the post, Bakke thumped a long-range effort straight into the midriff of the Birmingham goalkeeper Nico Vaesen, and Viduka prevaricated over a shot long enough to allow a defender to whip the ball off his toe.

Leeds' pressing need for a second goal was underlined immediately after the break when Birmingham were again unlucky to be denied a penalty as Morrison went down in the area under Danny Mills' challenge.

Viduka finally calmed Venables' nerves in the 67th minute after Kelly made a run to the byline and chipped the ball back to present him with the simplest of headers.

It was the cue for Milner's introduction but not before Smith, who had worked tirelessly on the right side of midfield, went on a run which took him past three defenders before shooting narrowly wide. In that moment the 22-year-old proved there is life in the Leeds old guard yet.

Leeds United (4-4-2): Robinson 6; Kelly 6, Mills 5, Woodgate 5, Harte 3; Smith 7, Bakke 6 (Milner 5, 72), Okon 4, Wilcox 5; Viduka 5, Kewell 6. Substitutes not used: S Johnson, Duberry, Fowler, Martyn (gk).

Birmingham City (4-4-2): Vaesen 6; Kenna 4, Hutchinson 5, M Johnson 4 (Horsfield 5, 62), Grainger 5, (Powell 5, 69); Devlin 6, Savage 6, Cissé 5, D Johnson 6; Morrison 4, Kirovski 4. Substitutes not used: Hughes, Woodhouse, Bennett (gk).

Referee: P Dowd (Stoke-on-Trent) 4.