Heidi's blog Sunderland v Leeds 28/12/25
Sunderland v Leeds United 28th December 2025 at The Stadium of Light
I hope most of you managed to have a lovely Christmas although I do know for some it wasn’t so with a major tragedy. We had our usual Christmas Eve celebrations carrying on the traditions of my parents then a quieter Christmas Dinner, but I enjoyed spending time with my extended family. We have a family stone that will be on Bielsa’s wall, and I also now have a statue of The Don with my hero Billy Bremner with the FA Cup. Winning the FA Cup in 1972 for the only time in our history will always be my favourite game. I also received a blue charm with my late husband’s ashes in as well as my three elder granddaughters receiving different coloured ones, so it was a very emotional time.
I can’t believe that only a week ago I was at the Hyde Park Picture House for the fan’s Q&A session at the Paris 75 documentary, after calling in at the Moot Hall Arms to see Eddie Gray and Rob Endeacott with their book signing session. That’s the fourth time I have seen Paris 75 and once again, I cried. It’s not just about the result, it’s knowing we were cheated and are right to feel the way we do 50 years later. I know there are many fans who still want to see it and hopefully that will become a reality in the not-too-distant future. After hearing Harvey Marcus had lost a potential sponsor for it due to “that ridiculous woman with the beret or it could have been that woman with the ridiculous beret”, I’ll admit it did get to me at first. There again, the beret itself was given to me complete with the sew on patches from the Art of Football when I did an interview for them. They also used my 70s profile to bring out a range of clothing. The beret itself alongside all my pin badges continues to be focussed on with the TV cameras so I will continue to be me and be proud of what I do as I know I can never please everyone.
Thank you to Claire Heseltine from the Moot Hall Arms for putting a poster together with a QR code which is now advertised on the screens there for the Billy Bremner raffle. Please note the raffle tickets are only available online and it closes in February 2026. All profits will go towards a statue for Billy Bremner in his hometown of Raploch in Stirling, so please help us sell them all. I have also just received the next batch of Billy Bremner badges selling at £5 each. Although I have a list of names, there will be spares available and I will have them at Liverpool. Raffle tickets are also available via my website
https://www.followmeandleedsunited.co.u ... ember-2025
Team: Perri, Ampadu, Rodon, Bogle, Gudmundsson, Aaronson, Stach, Okafor, Calvert-Lewin, Bijol, Struijk.
Subs: Tanaka for Rodon (injured 31), Nmecha for Okafor (72), Gnonto for Calvert-Lewin (85).
Subs not used: Darlow, Bornauw, Piroe, Justin, Gruev, Harrison.
Leeds drew the game 1-1 with Calvert-Lewin equalising (47) (scoring in his 6th successive game).
Attendance 46,675, with 3,110 Leeds fans.
Referee: Tony Harrington.
Booked: None from Leeds.
We started off by playing very deep, passing across the back a lot which caused too many anxious moments for me. We did have a chance when Okafor’s shot was deflected for a corner. Rodon was hurt with a bad challenge and having just seen the replay it’s no wonder he was in agony the way his ankle rolled when his leg was caught between their player’s legs. Why VAR didn’t look at it I’m not sure. Not long after this Sunderland took the lead as we cleared a long throw; they won the ball back and sent it out to the wing where their man cut in and scored. Although it did look offside VAR said it wasn’t. It was a blow when Rodon went off injured, but he’d had two bad tackles made on him without anyone getting booked. We did come close to an equaliser when Calvert-Lewin set up Aaronson who saw his shot saved off the line with their keeper beaten. We were very lucky that Sunderland didn’t get a second goal in injury time as the pace of their player beat our defence. When Perri came off his line it looked like he had no chance of getting the ball, but he did enough not to bring their player down. They had another chance with the same player heading against the crossbar in the dying seconds of the half. Thank goodness we were only a goal down at half time.
At the start of the second half, we needed to speed things up a bit as we were too slow in some of our build ups. As we passed back, I shouted: ”The best form of defence is attack”. With that we did indeed attack with a fantastic move involving all 11 of our players. Stach sent a great ball out to Aaronson on the left of us who sent his low ball straight to Calvert-Lewin’s feet in the middle of the box to equalise. That was a great start to the second half. We had another chance with Bogle coming in at the back, but he didn’t connect with the ball properly and it went wide. There were a few nervy moments as the second half seemed to drag on but I was grateful when the final whistle blew and we got a well-earned point.
The main thing for me today was to ensure we got something out of the game and thankfully we got that precious point ending the year on a high. With no Boxing Day fixture this year, maybe it did us a favour as we don’t normally do so well over the Christmas period. It was never going to be an easy game, but the main thing was we did battle until the end.
I want to wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year and thank everyone for the support they have given me and my family which is greatly appreciated. See you next year at Liverpool! LUFC – Marching on Together!
https://www.followmeandleedsunited.co.uk/
Sponsored by Clearwell Pest Control
https://www.clearwellpestcontrol.com/
I hope most of you managed to have a lovely Christmas although I do know for some it wasn’t so with a major tragedy. We had our usual Christmas Eve celebrations carrying on the traditions of my parents then a quieter Christmas Dinner, but I enjoyed spending time with my extended family. We have a family stone that will be on Bielsa’s wall, and I also now have a statue of The Don with my hero Billy Bremner with the FA Cup. Winning the FA Cup in 1972 for the only time in our history will always be my favourite game. I also received a blue charm with my late husband’s ashes in as well as my three elder granddaughters receiving different coloured ones, so it was a very emotional time.
I can’t believe that only a week ago I was at the Hyde Park Picture House for the fan’s Q&A session at the Paris 75 documentary, after calling in at the Moot Hall Arms to see Eddie Gray and Rob Endeacott with their book signing session. That’s the fourth time I have seen Paris 75 and once again, I cried. It’s not just about the result, it’s knowing we were cheated and are right to feel the way we do 50 years later. I know there are many fans who still want to see it and hopefully that will become a reality in the not-too-distant future. After hearing Harvey Marcus had lost a potential sponsor for it due to “that ridiculous woman with the beret or it could have been that woman with the ridiculous beret”, I’ll admit it did get to me at first. There again, the beret itself was given to me complete with the sew on patches from the Art of Football when I did an interview for them. They also used my 70s profile to bring out a range of clothing. The beret itself alongside all my pin badges continues to be focussed on with the TV cameras so I will continue to be me and be proud of what I do as I know I can never please everyone.
Thank you to Claire Heseltine from the Moot Hall Arms for putting a poster together with a QR code which is now advertised on the screens there for the Billy Bremner raffle. Please note the raffle tickets are only available online and it closes in February 2026. All profits will go towards a statue for Billy Bremner in his hometown of Raploch in Stirling, so please help us sell them all. I have also just received the next batch of Billy Bremner badges selling at £5 each. Although I have a list of names, there will be spares available and I will have them at Liverpool. Raffle tickets are also available via my website
https://www.followmeandleedsunited.co.u ... ember-2025
Team: Perri, Ampadu, Rodon, Bogle, Gudmundsson, Aaronson, Stach, Okafor, Calvert-Lewin, Bijol, Struijk.
Subs: Tanaka for Rodon (injured 31), Nmecha for Okafor (72), Gnonto for Calvert-Lewin (85).
Subs not used: Darlow, Bornauw, Piroe, Justin, Gruev, Harrison.
Leeds drew the game 1-1 with Calvert-Lewin equalising (47) (scoring in his 6th successive game).
Attendance 46,675, with 3,110 Leeds fans.
Referee: Tony Harrington.
Booked: None from Leeds.
We started off by playing very deep, passing across the back a lot which caused too many anxious moments for me. We did have a chance when Okafor’s shot was deflected for a corner. Rodon was hurt with a bad challenge and having just seen the replay it’s no wonder he was in agony the way his ankle rolled when his leg was caught between their player’s legs. Why VAR didn’t look at it I’m not sure. Not long after this Sunderland took the lead as we cleared a long throw; they won the ball back and sent it out to the wing where their man cut in and scored. Although it did look offside VAR said it wasn’t. It was a blow when Rodon went off injured, but he’d had two bad tackles made on him without anyone getting booked. We did come close to an equaliser when Calvert-Lewin set up Aaronson who saw his shot saved off the line with their keeper beaten. We were very lucky that Sunderland didn’t get a second goal in injury time as the pace of their player beat our defence. When Perri came off his line it looked like he had no chance of getting the ball, but he did enough not to bring their player down. They had another chance with the same player heading against the crossbar in the dying seconds of the half. Thank goodness we were only a goal down at half time.
At the start of the second half, we needed to speed things up a bit as we were too slow in some of our build ups. As we passed back, I shouted: ”The best form of defence is attack”. With that we did indeed attack with a fantastic move involving all 11 of our players. Stach sent a great ball out to Aaronson on the left of us who sent his low ball straight to Calvert-Lewin’s feet in the middle of the box to equalise. That was a great start to the second half. We had another chance with Bogle coming in at the back, but he didn’t connect with the ball properly and it went wide. There were a few nervy moments as the second half seemed to drag on but I was grateful when the final whistle blew and we got a well-earned point.
The main thing for me today was to ensure we got something out of the game and thankfully we got that precious point ending the year on a high. With no Boxing Day fixture this year, maybe it did us a favour as we don’t normally do so well over the Christmas period. It was never going to be an easy game, but the main thing was we did battle until the end.
I want to wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year and thank everyone for the support they have given me and my family which is greatly appreciated. See you next year at Liverpool! LUFC – Marching on Together!
https://www.followmeandleedsunited.co.uk/
Sponsored by Clearwell Pest Control
https://www.clearwellpestcontrol.com/