With the Whites facing AFC Bournemouth at Elland Road this weekend, Ben Scott takes us back to Saturday 4th November, 1989, to relive a classic encounter.

Dorset club AFC Bournemouth met Leeds at Elland Road for this coming together, a day before bonfire night. It was Leeds United who had the sparkle and colourful display in what was only the sixth ever meeting of these two.

This game also served as an accurate marker for the contrasting seasons the two clubs would have.

When they would meet 30 games later, the victory Leeds gained through a one-nil win would see the Whites crowned champions under Howard Wilkinson, and also see the Cherries relegated under Harry Redknapp.

The form book read well for hosts; they hadn’t ever lost against Bournemouth and only had one defeat in the league all season in the first game away from Elland Road. This was the sixteenth of a gruelling campaign.

Bournemouth won the coin flip and kicked off the game, attacking the Kop end at the north of the stadium. But with seven seconds gone it was their goalkeeper, Phil Kite, in possession of the ball as no sooner had they played the first pass than Leeds put them under pressure into playing all the way back into the hands of Kite. The press, led by the Leeds trio of Andy Williams, Ian Baird and Bobby Davison roused the home crowd.

Soon after, Kite was again busily flapping towards the ball after a Vinnie Jones throw in on the left was flicked on by Chris Fairclough, and a little chaos unfolded around the six-yard box. The ball bounced around, bodies from both sides eager to make a telling connection, but when one was eventually made it cleared any danger.

It was host goalie Mervyn Day who was the first into real action. Bournemouth found a way through United’s stringent offside trap and Day was forced into a quick double save. The first a hit low, the second on the rebound aimed higher. Day caught the second shot and from then onwards he could relax as his side burst forward time after time.

The first of the three goals Leeds racked up came down the right side and was an archetypal goal for them under the management of Wilkinson. Although the players differed, naturally, during his eight-year reign, the pattern often didn’t.

David Batty knocked a through-ball between the Bournemouth defenders and Mel Sterland received it near the dead ball line. He sent in a low cross towards the near post where Bobby Davison made a Bournemouth defender panic. As Davison and the defender tangled, the ball flicked on to the back post and Baird threw himself bravely at the ball and powerfully headed Leeds ahead with 29 minutes played.

A second goal was then in the bag before half-time arrived. When Jones played a sweet ball forward for Davison, he was ready to shoot when he was hauled down for a clear penalty kick. Up stepped Gordon Strachan and with his right foot sent the ball comfortably low into the left corner, giving Kite very little hope of stopping the lead doubling.

A few minutes later, Strachan nearly had an assist to go with his goal after he crossed for Baird, but his header couldn’t beat Kite and the guests breathed a sigh of relief.

Strachan, though, would be directly involved in the final goal of the game, which came in the second half. His corner went towards the near post and was flicked on into the middle of the six-yard box. There, Fairclough rose with poise and purpose, powering a low header past Kite and a defender on the line to wrap up nicely three goals and three points towards Leeds’ push for promotion.