In the days when we rolled up in Derby and taking three points was a given, Leeds returned to the top of the Premership thanks to a dubious penalty awarded when Harry Kewell tumbled in the box in the final minute following a seemingly innocent challenge from Horacio Carbonari.

The replays showed that the Argentine defender barely touched Kewell, who fell forward on all fours and referee Paul Alcock pointed to the spot. Ian Harte stepped up to blast the spot-kick past Mart Poom.

Earlier, Alan Smith had the ball in the net only for it to be disallowed and Kewell had clipped the crossbar. Just when it looked like the Leeds fans packed behind Poom's goal would have to settle for a point in the Midlands, Kewell went down and we snatched a victory we just about deserved although the circumstances were hard to take for the deflated Rams who now had both eyes on a winter relegation battle.

Derby had welcomed the outrageously talented Georgi Kinkladze to their side, the Georgian former Manchester City star taking his place in their midfield alongside Craig Burley, another debutant. Kinkladze set up a header for Steve Elliott which Nigel Martyn tipped over before making way for former whites' hero Tony Dorigo.

However it was another Australian who stole the headlines, from Derby's point of view for all the wrong reasons. Leeds boss David O'Leary was quick to defend Kewell, he said : "It was a definite penalty. It's not my fault their player pulled him down. A rash tackle and thank you very much we've won."

I spent the death-throws of the match in Derby's Toyota Stand, virtually level from where Kewell fell, sitting on my hands but as the locals poured past us, me and a mate who'd arranged our complimentaries through his work decided to celebrate like several others who had snook in with the home-fans. We could only watch on with envy as the jubilant Yorkshire hordes cavorted and taunted in front of their sickened hosts.

As we made our way out of Pride Park, barely concealing wide smiles, I heard a Scottsh voice boom behind me "Aye that's it, we're doon!" Quite how a Caledonian came to support a small club in the East Midlands remains a mystery? Maybe he was descended from Bonnie Prince Charlie's stay in the city back in 1745 when on reaching the ancient causeway at nearby Swarkestone, intending to advance to London, he turned back.

The doom mongers prediction for his struggling side was incorrect, Derby retained their place in the Premiership as the new millennium dawn. As we know, Leeds entered the year 2000 as league leaders and given our luck at Pride Park, and the previous week at home to Southampton when we again had won by a last minute goal, many including myself thought we would go on and win it. In the end, we had to settle for 3rd and a place in the Champions League qualifying rounds.

Derby: Poom, Laursen, Carbonari, Elliott, Delap, Burley, Powell, Kinkladze, Johnson, Sturridge, Burton. Subs: Hoult, Dorigo, Christie, Nimni, Prior.

Leeds: Martyn, Kelly, Radebe, Woodgate, Harte, Bakke, McPhail, Bowyer, Kewell, Bridges, Huckerby. Subs: Robinson, Smith, Mills, Jones, Duberry.

Photo: Action Images

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