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Southend Utd 1 Leeds Utd 1: Unhappy fans turn on Wise

By Conrad Leach at Roots Hall

Leeds have never been at such a low ebb, and despite claiming an equaliser two minutes from time the fact is things could get worse before they get better. Bottom of the Championship, they are still three points adrift of safety. The third tier of English football beckons for the first time in the club's history, it is not the sort the men in white want to create.

The travelling fans even started to turn on their manager , Dennis Wise, and assistant Gus Poyet. The supporters have suffered a lot since Leeds' fall from the Premiership in 2004 but their patience appeared to have finally run out here at Roots Hall.

A largely insipid performance was to blame but the replacement of Eddie Lewis by Ian Moore, rather than David Healy, was the straw that broke the camel's back and led to angry chants of "Chelsea boys taking us down".

Healy eventually came on and put away Robbie Elliott's pass from a free-kick for their point. Leeds then had a penalty turned down for handball in the last minute, much to Wise's disgust. "Disgraceful," he said of the decision and then claimed he was sent off by the referee. Even Southend's manager, Steve Tilson, did not dispute the handball but said that a push on his player Simon Francis was why no penalty was given.

The visitors, who still have difficult games against Preston, Southampton and Derby to come, should have taken the lead after eight minutes when Tresor Kandol had the chance from six yards out but while Frazer Richardson's cross was perfect, the striker's header went wildly over.

Although the visitors had begun brightly, they were their own worst enemy when a crass mistake by Lubomir Michalik let Southend in for their goal. The Slovak defender, on loan from Bolton, swung a foot and missed, which let Lee Bradbury in behind him. His cross found Mark Gower, who finished low past Casper Ankergren after 24 minutes. It all summed up how Leeds' season has gone.

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