I don’t think I’ve ever been so sure we were going to lose a game as this. An early kick off away to a Yorkshire rival vying for promotion after a couple of shaky fixtures? No one would even come to the pub with me, except a mate of mine who is about as far from a football fan as it’s possible to be. Would we win? No chance.

Admittedly, Leeds had the exact same form as us the three games before – a win, a draw and a loss, though they’d lost to Norwich and we’d lost to Bristol City. They’d fluked their game at the Lane earlier in the season though, so I pretty much thought it was guaranteed.

Regardless, I traipsed down to The Dundee Arms in Bethnal Green for 12 to prepare for kick off, only to find out that they weren’t playing the football on any of their big screens because of the 6 Nations. Now, I don’t mind rugby, but at this point rugby could fuck right off. After some begging on my part, the barman managed to put Sky on out in the beer garden, underneath what could only be described as the most pathetic shed in existence. The TV was right up in the corner falling off the wall, flickered repeatedly, had no sound at all and the only seat was so close that I swear I’ve developed neck problems thanks to this match. It’s sat here my mate found me, a pint and a half in, staring up at a horrific angle and despairing at how good Leeds were.

I’ve just watched the game highlights back and how on earth they didn’t score amazes me. They had 3 or 4 golden chances in the first half, hit the post straight off the bat in the second and Jansson missed a point blank tap in late on. It really is baffling how lucky we got, because they tore us apart. We had one moment in the first half, with Basham clean through. He was playing in midfield, and he took way, way too long to decide to shoot or pass. It was a bit of a mess, and Wilder said he was thinking about taking him off at half time.

He didn’t, and the rest is history. When Liam Cooper had messed up and Sharp had played the ball into the path of the onrushing Blade, I don’t think I was the only one who was horrified to see Bash running onto the end of the through ball! Heart in mouth I watch as Bash slipped, his foot connected and he slid it into the bottom corner of the Leeds goal. I went mental, and my mate who had been quietly amused at my distress started to pay more attention to the football. For the final 20 minutes I was a complete wreck, certain we’d concede. When the final whistle came I think it took 30 minutes for my heart rate to return to normal.

Looking back, the final 5 minutes of that game were pretty hilarious. Sharp running through to be taken down by their keeper, who got sent off. Jansson being told to go in goal and throwing a hissy fit after missing from point blank and being unable to run due to injury. And then Jansson pointlessly running upfield to join in with their last attack, only for the ball to trickle out of play. You love to see players like him get messed about.

One of my abiding memories of that match was a few Millwall supporters joining us outside in the cold for the last few minutes and hoping we would go up.

“We need a team up there who hates West Ham almost as much as us.”

Now, I don’t hate West Ham as I’ll explain at some point, but I appreciated the sentiment from a fellow football fan anyway. It’s nice to feel part of a football community, even if it was the worst place I’ve ever watched football in my life.