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Heading into Sunday’s clash, Leeds United would have heavily fancied their chances against Ruben Amorim’s hot-and-cold Manchester United.

After all, entering into this showdown between two bitter foes, the moods were very different, with the Whites pleased with a battling 0-0 draw on the road at Liverpool last time out, while the Red Devils shakily secured a share of the points versus bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Another Premier League draw was on the menu at Elland Road, as Matheus Cunha quickly cancelled out Brenden Aaronson’s opener, which sent the home fans inside Leeds’ beloved home ground into raptures.

Aaronson, once again, impressed in the middle of the park for Daniel Farke’s reinvigorated hosts, with his overall display also pleasing to take in, away from his memorable second-half effort beating Senne Lammens.

Aaronson's standout performance vs Man Utd

Aaronson easily shrugged off an attempted challenge by Ayden Heaven to fire the home side into a one-goal lead, as his resurgence in the Leeds starting lineup shows no signs of coming to a grinding halt.

Indeed, heading into this showdown with the Red Devils, the energetic American had managed to tally up two assists against Liverpool and Sunderland in December, but he was the goalscoring hero for a change against Amorim’s men.

On top of bagging a crucial goal, the former RB Salzburg attacker also showed off plenty of passion as Yorkshire faced off against Lancashire, with the lively number 11 going in for 11 duels in total.

Constantly bombing forward with pace, as well, Farke will know that Aaronson’s energy and determination will continue to be pivotal, as the games come thick and fast across the rest of the bumper month.

The team’s overall standards have risen so much in recent weeks that Aaronson would admit – at the close of the 1-1 draw – that he was disappointed that the three points didn’t come their way.

Still, there were a lot of positives for Leeds to latch onto, even if a win didn’t arrive.

The Leeds star who was even better than Aaronson

Leeds fans watching the game at home would have been greeted with a brief trip down memory lane as former Whites star Mateusz Klich spoke to the media pre-match.

Hailing the Whites as a “special place”, Klich is still loved to this day for what he offered Leeds over many a season, with 24 goals and 21 assists coming the Polish midfielder’s way from 195 games.

Picking up nine goal contributions from 35 clashes, Klich was always a reliable performer at his Elland Road peak.

Anton Stach looks to be heading down the same path as Klich in being a well-rounded presence, capable of also chipping in with a goal or an assist in the Premier League, with the former Hoffenheim midfielder going down as an instant hit in England since moving in the summer.

Stach’s performance in numbers

Stat

Stach

Minutes played

90

Goals scored

0

Assists

0

Touches

77

Shots

1

Accurate passes

38/50 (76%)

Key passes

3

Tackles won

3/5

Total duels won

7/13

Stats by Sofascore

He wouldn’t add to his three goals and two assists for the season against the Red Devils, but he was definitely lively throughout from the middle of the park, winning three tackles and seven duels to continue to live up to his reputation of being a “monster” that was handed to him by one scout.

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But, as journalist Paddy Keogh stated, Stach also showed off why he’s a “serious all-action” option for Farke – like Klich once was, with the skilful German coming off at the end of the tight contest with three key passes under his belt, as Leeds constantly attempted to unlock a stern United defence.

Aaronson’s numbers fall flat in comparison, despite his goal stealing the headlines come the end of the match, with the American only managing to register one key pass.

Moreover, despite the 5-foot-10 attacker putting his neck on the line to try and win 11 duels, he would only come out on top two times, while Stach would valiantly win seven of his own 13 duels, with Leeds Live journalist Isaac Johnson stating that he “held his ground” bravely amid a 7/10 post-match rating.

Leeds’ immediate future in the Premier League looks bright if both Stach and Aaronson continue to excel, with the German hopeful that he can be seen as another cult figure like Klich down the line, if he can keep up these sublime performances.

Related Stach repeat: Leeds identify £11m "goal-scoring menace" as top target

Leeds United are reportedly eyeing up this star who could be an Anton Stach repeat.

Posts ByDan Emery

The English women’s team got their tour of Australia and New Zealand off to ashaky start today with a five-wicket loss to Australian National Leaguechampions New South Wales at Old King’s Oval, Parramatta, in western Sydney.England, who were at one stage reeling at 8/61 in the fifty-over-a-sidematch, made 104 in 49.5 overs. The NSWIS (New South Wales Institute ofSport) Blues, containing four current and two ex-Australian representatives, scored the required 105 runs for the loss of five wickets with15.3 overs to spare.All six of the NSW bowlers were among the wickets after Julie Hayes won thetoss and sent England into bat, Belinda Clark playing but stepping down fromcaptaincy duties for the day. Charlotte Edwards (16) provided someresistance against a well-drilled NSW bowling attack, until last pair LauraNewton (25*) and Lucy Pearson (13) added 27 for the tenth wicket. NSW pacebowler Bronwyn Calver took 2/13 from her ten overs, including the wicket of Clare Taylor through an exceptional diving one-handed catch from Julie Hayes. Therese McGregor claimed 1/4from five, while off-spinner Lisa Sthalekar (1/28) was somehow permitted tobowl an eleventh over – though that extra over, which went for seven runs,was one of the most costly of the England innings.A 72-run opening stand between Australian internationals Lisa Keightley (39)and Michelle Goszko (34) put the match beyond any shadow of a doubt,although nineteen year-old left-arm spinner Dawn Holden (4/31 from tenovers) had an impressive debut appearance in an England senior team.England play a New South Wales team of second-eleven strength tomorrow at BankstownOval, Sydney, before the first of four one-day internationalsagainst Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.

Anil Kumble is confident of a good show against Australia © Getty Images

Anil Kumble is confident India can beat Australia in the upcoming series if the batsmen perform the way they did during the previous tour in 2003-04. Kumble, fresh from a 1-0 series win against Pakistan in his first assignment as Test captain, took heart from the manner in which Sri Lanka nearly chased down a target of more than 500 against Australia in the second Test in Hobart last month.”We have the potential to beat Australia because we have the batting line-up to put runs on the board,” he said during the shoot of a special television programme in Bangalore. “And once we have runs on the board, I believe we have the ability to get 20 wickets.”Kumble recently trumped Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the Test captaincy, after Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar had turned down the job. “I thought the chance had passed me by, I thought there was a chance when I was vice-captain in 1996,” said Kumble, adding that he didn’t expect to be made captain even as recently as two months ago. “When I became captain was not in my control [but] I think it has come at the right time.”In front of an audience that included many of his school teachers and college professors, Kumble said being handed the reins of the Test side was a great motivation. The 37-year-old Kumble, whose career spans 17 years and 121 Tests so far, said he had contemplated retirement several times in the past and that Test captaincy was a “shot in the arm” .In a recorded message, Sourav Ganguly – India’s most successful captain – hailed Kumble’s leadership skills. “The first day in Delhi [ahead of the first Test against Pakistan], the team meeting summed up everything. Certain issues were addressed and from that point I knew things were going to turn out well.”In a freewheeling chat, Kumble picked Shane Warne over Muttiah Muralitharan as his favourite spinner, termed his maiden Test century (at The Oval against England in June this year) as one of his career highlights, and mentioned that, post-retirement, he would prefer coaching in Bangalore to touring as part of the media.

David Morgan: backing Fletcher for the moment © Getty Images

David Morgan, the chairman of the ECB, has leant his backing to England’s beleaguered coach, Duncan Fletcher, by insisting – as David Graveney, the chairman of selectors did yesterday – that his job is not under immediate threat despite the wave of defeats that the team is currently being subjected to in Australia.Fletcher’s one-day record against the top eight Test-playing nations is poor but, with the World Cup in the West Indies looming, Morgan is aware that a change of personnel in the short-term could be even more destabilising for the team. “What we decided to do is not have any final decisions about what his [Fletcher’s] aspirations are until the end of this tour,” Morgan told BBC Radio Five Live. “I don’t anticipate him going. That is my assessment of the position.”Graveney, meanwhile is convinced Fletcher retains the full confidence of the ailing England dressing-room, and insists the players are desperate to claim a much-needed victory over New Zealand on Tuesday to ease the pressure on their coach. He told the BBC: “Duncan is hurting the same as everyone else – and when I say everyone else I mean the players, the management and every England cricket fan.”He is trying to do the job on a day-to-day basis with the same intensity and I am sure the players know if there is one thing they want to do on Tuesday it is to win for Duncan Fletcher. [He] is still the England coach and he retains the support of everyone close to the team and the team in particular. Our main objective is to start winning some games on this tour.”Rather than using Fletcher as a convenient scapegoat for an Ashes tour rated by many experts as the worst in England cricket history, Graveney insists the players must shoulder much of the blame for the sorry displays.”They have to assess their performances each day by looking at themselves and saying, ‘have I done everything I possibly can for this team?’ The two performances in Adelaide were way off the standards we expect from this national team.”I don’t want to make excuses because I don’t think that is particularly appropriate at this stage.”Michael Vaughan has also come out in support of Fletcher, but the debate rages on about who would the favourite to replace him as coach.

Graeme Smith has struggled throughout the tour of Australia © Getty Images

The convenor of South Africa’s selectors, Haroon Lorgat, has warned the country’s top order that their performances in Australia have not been up to scratch. Lorgat’s comments follow their 94-run defeat against Sri Lanka, at Brisbane, which came two days after they beat Australia.The South African batting has not been helped by the withdrawal of Jacques Kallis, who has been replaced by Johan van de Wath, but Lorgat told that this is no excuse and other players should take responsibility.”van der Wath is a like-for-like replacement for Kallis, although he is obviously not in the same class as a specialist batsman,” Lorgat admitted. “But we still have plenty of senior batsmen available and, quite frankly, it is high time that they started pulling their weight.”Jacques Rudolph played well against Sri Lanka, but it is high time that [Graeme] Smith, [Herschelle] Gibbs and [Ashwell] Prince start making the sort of scores we expect from them.”I don’t think there is anything wrong with the personnel we have in Australia, but there is definitely something missing, and the team must sort themselves out quickly. What happened [at the Gabba] was simply not acceptable.”Smith’s form has been a concern throughout the tour. In the Tests, Twenty20 and one-day internationals he has failed to reach fifty in nine innings, with a top score of 39. However, for the head of the national selection panel to be making comments such as this mid-way through a tour is hardly going to inspire confidence among the players.

“My friends were texting me, hoping he [Robert Key] would get out for nought and stuff like that! But I like him; he’s a good lad,” says Butcher © Getty Images

Mark Butcher believes that the resumption of his Test career may be out of his hands, as he attempts to battle back from the wrist injury that kept him out of the 196-run defeat against South Africa at Newlands last week.Butcher, who has been wearing a cast over his sprained wrist, has received two cortisone injections and hopes to be fit to take part in Monday’s nets practice at the Wanderers. But even so, he may be unable to dislodge his replacement, Robert Key, who made a decent 41 in the second innings at Newlands in his first first-class appearance since September.Key had been Butcher’s stand-in throughout the 4-0 home series victory over West Indies, after he succumbed to a succession of untimely injuries, including whiplash from a car crash and a thigh injury while moving boxes at his new home in South London. And though Butcher resumed his No. 3 position at the start of the South Africa tour, he has been unable to make a concrete case for his reinstatement for a second time.His first Test innings of the tour was a gritty 79, but that was followed by three consecutive failures in the second innings at Port Elizabeth and at Durban. “I travelled out here not knowing whether I was going to be in the starting line-up,” said Butcher. “So to get that vote of confidence before the first Test was a huge boost, and I was determined not to let anybody down.”I might get down to the nets on Monday and not be able to bat properly,”Butcher conceded, “in which case there is no decision to be made. But I amcertainly hoping that Michael [Vaughan] and Duncan [Fletcher] are having to choose between one of us again. Obviously this injury has come at a bad time. I hate sitting out missing Test matches.”For Key, however, the prospect of another opportunity will be seen as justreward for his uncomplaining approach to the tour. He top-scored with 87 in the tour opener against Nicky Oppenheimer’s XI, but immediately conceded that his name was not in the frame for the Tests. “It wasn’t his decision, but I meant to talk to him at some point,” said Butcher. “But the time never seemed to be right. ‘What am I going to say? Thanks mate?'”That’s the way it is with teams,” he added. “Sometimes you have to accept your misfortune is going to benefit other people, and you cannot begrudge anybody that. My friends were texting me, hoping he would get out for nought and stuff like that! But I like him; he’s a good lad. I think he’s a good player, and I hope he scores runs as much as I hope any of the other batters score runs.”For England, the next two Tests are going to be a huge test of their mettle. They came within a whisker of going 2-0 up in Durban, only to be pulled back to 1-1 at Cape Town, and Butcher conceded that South Africa’s fightback was no flash in the pan. “They are starting to put their side together in the way it probably should have been from the start,” he said. “We never estimated they were going to be easy to beat anyway.”They have guys in their team who average 60 with the bat, and Shaun Pollock averages 22 with the ball – so it was never going to be easy. If we play to the potential we have shown, with all things firing as we would like, we are a better side than they are – but they are at home, they are a decent team and they played well in this last Test. We just can’t afford to slip up again.”

Harbhajan Singh: failed to make maximum use of the wicket © AFP

Few observers who saw both games could pinpoint any significant differences in the way the pitch at the Motera stadium played in this Test and the way it behaved in the match against England a year and a half ago. Which would not be surprising, except for the fact that Ahmedabad was one of the venues that was evaluated by the New Zealand Sports Turf Institute. The institute then passed on its recommendations to the Indian board for implementation, and the pitch was re-laid in accordance with them.The institute’s main suggestions were to decrease the depth of the wicket from 2.5 feet, which was the norm in India, to 1.5 feet, and to replace the soil to facilitate bounce. “But how can we prepare bouncy wickets for Test matches in India?” asks, rhetorically, Nadeem Memon, curator at Motera. “So that is why the pitch is playing more or less the same way it did in the last Test.”Matches that have been played here since the surface has been re-laid, Memon says, have all seen outright results. “Both seamers and spinners have found help. But you should not compare a first-class wicket with a Test wicket.”When India play at home, they automatically want the advantage of home conditions. They don’t want grass or bounce,” says Memon. “We want the wicket to last five days, to maximise the take from admissions, so we have to roll it, keep it clear of grass, and factor in the heat. This will naturally be the result.”This pitch, Memon predicts, will not break at all. “People think it will, but it won’t. But you can’t say there is no turn. Daniel Vettori bowled well and turned the ball on the very first day. Our spinners just did not bowl well or aggressively enough. Had Bishan Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna or BS Chandrasekhar been here, they would have opened up this side by now, on this wicket.” Both turn and bounce is available here, Memon insists. “Matthew Hayden just got 380 at Perth, but that does not mean it is a batting wicket. Our spinners just have to bowl line and length to get wickets, and they did not do that.”The surface, one gathers, would have behaved rather differently had Memon been allowed to follow his heart. “Our cricketers must understand that all over the world, grass is present on the wicket. In Australia, there is dampness in the pitch until the third day; you can stick a key in it even then. If we do that here, though, we will be painted as villains.”Unless we have a free hand,” Memon continues, “this attitude will persist.” He has, it appears, heard some rumours that there were complaints from the Indian camp from the very first day about this wicket, and is not surprised. “Nobody even waited for a few days to say how it would play; they automatically criticised it as a dead wicket. Stephen Fleming told me this was the best-looking ground in India, but nobody here praises us even if the ground looks good. Our groundsmen work on nominal salaries, and yet we are always criticised. Even when we have prepared a wicket that will aid an Indian win, nobody will come to say ‘Thank you.’ They are all just concerned with how many runs they will score or how many wickets they will take.”

Most of us in India watch cricket because we want to see India win. Weconstantly live in hope and find cheer in the smallest achievements ofour men, rare as they are. Over the years, we have, however, come tonot expect Indian victories and are quite willing to be satisfied withhonourable defeats. Unfortunately, we are denied even these smallmercies most of the time.

Most knowledgeable cricket viewers have serious doubts about thepropriety of the bowling actions of a number of bowlers whom they havebeen watching closely over the years. I have heard many of them,including Test umpires, voice strong opinions on the subject, althoughtheir public utterances may often be more politically correct.

Equally depressing in international cricket are some other trends,which are not of India’s doing. I refer to the number of bowlers withsuspect actions dotting the scene and the irrational, even ethicallyunsustainable, stands sometimes taken by their respective cricketboards. The Pakistan Cricket Board has, for instance, announced thatit will support paceman Shoaib Akhtar if he challenges, in a court oflaw, the recent International Cricket Council decision to review thelegality of his bowling action. PCB officials have been reported asattributing any seeming abnormality in Akhtar’s action to a congenitalphysical idiosyncrasy. This is carrying a tired excuse to extremes,and the very idea that a member body can go to court against theparent is quite preposterous.Most knowledgeable cricket viewers have serious doubts about thepropriety of the bowling actions of a number of bowlers whom they havebeen watching closely over the years. I have heard many of them,including Test umpires, voice strong opinions on the subject, althoughtheir public utterances may often be more politically correct. Much asI admire the extraordinary qualities of head and heart of Sri Lankanoff-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, I have strong reservations about thelegality of his bowling action, an opinion echoed by many aninternational cricketer, at least in private conversations.Increasingly, much of the debate among some of these expert spectatorsat Test matches tends to centre around the minor chucking epidemicthat seems to have swept international cricket. Doubts are frequentlyexpressed especially about the wrong ‘uns sent down by bowlers likeHarbhajan Singh and even Saqlain Mushtaq, the faster deliveries ofShahid Afridi, not to mention the express deliveries of Shoaib Akhtarand Brett Lee. Long experience suggests that what the naked eye of theexperienced cricketer sees is seldom proved wrong by technology.My own view on efforts by captains and cricket boards to defend thesuspect actions of their bowlers for emotional or patriotic reasonshas always been that it is just not cricket. It is an extremelydisappointing scenario that allows an Arjuna Ranatunga or a PCB tomake an international issue of what should remain a strictlycricketing problem of a technical nature, and subsequently takes awaythe powers of umpires on the field to rule on unfair bowling actions.Just as sadly, numerous cricket commentators of immense knowledge andexperience have supported such essentially political moves, forsakingthe time-honoured values of cricket. It is difficult to escape theconclusion that they are part of the gigantic promotional machinery ofthe cricket bandwagon that wants to perpetuate icons who sell, even ifthey are flawed.

Neil McKenzie will join South Africa’s support staff as a batting consultant following his retirement from cricket nine days ago. McKenzie is currently playing in the Masters Champions League (MCL) and will discuss the details of his contract on his return from the UAE.”Yes I have accepted the position but will catch up with details when I get back,” McKenzie told ESPNcricinfo. It is understood his first assignment will be with the Twenty20 squad in preparation for the World T20 in India next month.Although Cricket South Africa is yet to confirm McKenzie’s appointment, at least one senior batsman is pleased the former international is involved. “I’d be happy with that, Neil was one of the’ names in the hat from what I hear. I played a lot with Neil, and I have very good memories of that,” Hashim Amla said ahead of the third ODI against England in Centurion. “He was an excellent batter, great cricketing brain. If he’s the guy who’s joining us, that would be fantastic. I’m sure he would be [pleased] as well, to be part of the South African team again.”McKenzie will become the fifth batting consultant in Russell Domingo’s tenure, which began in mid-2013 when the latter succeeded Gary Kirsten. At that time, Kirsten was signed on a 50-days-a-year deal with CSA, which ended in 2015. For the World Cup, South Africa employed the services of former Australia batsman Michael Hussey, who was also with them during the T20s in India late last year. Hussey could not stay on for the Tests, which is when South Africa’s batting problems began. They did not manage a single century in the four Tests and put on a top score of 214, which they matched when they returned home for the Boxing Day Test against England.In preparation for that match in Durban, Lance Klusener was roped in to work specifically with the lower order, even though the batting woes began at the top. Klusener, who is head coach at the South African franchise, Dolphins, was only involved for a couple of days and if he had any impact, it was negligible. Following the Durban defeat, and in the aftermath of harsh criticism, South Africa brought in former captain Graeme Smith, whom Amla believed would assist them throughout the rest of the series. Smith was also commentating for Test Match Special and SuperSport, and the conflict meant he only spent one net session with the team.South Africa did not have any other batting coach through the England series but after the final match, which they won, Domingo divulged that they had been trying to sign someone for months. “We’ve been looking for somebody and we’ve got somebody in mind. We are waiting for him to commit to us. We’ve had a few people who said they were interested but they wouldn’t commit to it simply because traveling is not that fun when you are away from your family for a long time, and when there is a lot of pressure and a lot of criticism you are faced with when things don’t go well,” he said.Whether that person was McKenzie is not known. McKenzie had been playing for Lions in their List A competition, after retiring from first-class cricket at the end of last season and then retired from all domestic cricket last week when he traveled to the MCL. He played 58 Tests, 64 ODIs and 2 T20Is for South Africa. His overall career spanned two decades with 280 first-class games, 298 List A matches and 155 T20s.

Newcastle United journalist Luke Edwards has moved to quash any suggestion that Allan Saint-Maximin has become unsettled at St James’ Park.

The lowdown

The 25-year-old hasn’t started a game for the Magpies for around a month now. He missed the trips to West Ham United and Brentford with a minor injury before returning as a substitute for the win over Brighton and Hove Albion in early March.

Having been absent once again for the midweek visit to Southampton, he came off the bench for the final 20 minutes of the defeat against Chelsea on Sunday.

The latest

Edwards took to Twitter on Sunday morning to explain the reasons behind Saint-Maximin’s recent absences, strongly refuting any apparent claims that the Frenchman is unsettled on Tyneside.

The Telegraph journalist stated: “Allan Saint Maximin has been feeling unwell. So before the rumours of disenchantment and unrest start being spread by fake in-the-know types, there is nothing more to his absence from midweek game than that. His relationship with club, teammates and manager is very good.”

The verdict

What reason would £38,500-per-week forward have to be unhappy at Newcastle?

After facing the threat of relegation earlier in the season (even enduring a spell at the very bottom of the table), they are now a club on the up. In fact, since Matchweek 20, they are actually third in the Premier League form table, trailing only the title-chasing duo of Liverpool and Manchester City.

Also, given that Saint-Maximin leads the squad for goal contributions with eight, he could well be a player around whom the club’s mega-rich owners are looking to build their hugely ambitious project.

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Edwards’ strongly-worded tweet should allay any fears there may have been among the Toon Army that the French maestro would be ticked off with life on Tyneside.

In other news, read this insider’s claim on Harry Kane’s links with Newcastle