HONOURS EVEN AT STAMFORD BRIDGE
Mark Viduka continued his superb recent run of form when he opened the scoring for Leeds with a header from a corner but David O'Leary's men where denied three points by Poyet's header twelve minutes from time.
A scrappy game saw referee Graham Poll blow his whistle 37 times for fouls in the game and also saw him brandish the yellow card eight times and it could have been more.
The first half was a tight affair with both teams struggling to find enough space to create many clear-cut opportunities. Both sides were closing the ball down quickly and the game was littered with mistakes as a result.
Referee Graham Poll was a busy man as four players where booked while several others where lucky to escape a yellow card as the tackles flew in. Marcel Desailly, Dennis Wise, Sam Della Bona and Gary Kelly where the names taken down in the book.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink had the first opportunity of the game after 15 minutes when he raced onto a loose ball and rounded goalkeeper Paul Robinson before pulling the ball back into the six-yard box but the ball was cleared by Lee Bowyer.
One of the many free kicks in the game gave Ian Harte the opportunity to hit one of his trademark strikes after 24 minutes. He hit a powerful left foot shot from just outside the box but it went straight at Ed de Goey.
Lee Bowyer picked up the ball on the edge of the box on 29 minutes and he curled a superb right-foot shot that looked to have De Goey beaten but went just wide of the post.
Hasselbaink had two attempts near the end of the half but failed to break the deadlock. He firstly turned into the box on his left foot in the 42nd minute and hit a fierce swerving shot that Robinson did well to save. A minute later he outpaced Danny Mills down the right and again unleashed a thunderous shot that Robinson could only parry away.
The second half started the same as the first with neither side gaining the ascendancy and chances where few and far between.
Hasselbaink tried his luck from a 30-yard free kick just on the hour mark that Robinson had to dive low to his right to save.
Leeds took the lead just a minute later when in-form Australian striker Mark Viduka scored his fifth goal in two games from a Lee Bowyer corner. Viduka held off the challenge of Mario Melchiot to head the ball into the bottom corner with no Chelsea player on the post.
The visitors could have doubled their lead after 71 minutes when Bowyer broke free down the right from Viduka's ball. He whipped the ball in that just eluded Alan Smith and was cleared from danger.
With the game slipping away from Chelsea, Claudio Ranieri made a triple substitution, and brought on Tore Andre Flo, Eidur Gudjohsen and Jody Morris in the 75th minute.
Three minutes later Chelsea equalised when Gustavo Poyet arrived late to head home following Leeds being unable to clear a corner. Hasselbaink had two attempts blocked before the ball popped up to Flo who headed the ball across the box for Poyet to make it 1-1.
Both teams went in search of a late winner with Robinson having to come to clame trough balls in front of Hasslebaink but no clear opportunities where created.
The result leaves Leeds in eigth place while Chelsea climb into the top half of the table in Tenth place, ahead of Tottenham and Sunderland on goal difference.
