Match Report: Leeds vs Derby

When you initially saw the team sheet every fan will have wondered a little about the formation.

Stuart Dallas as a left back made more eyes raise than the rest of the selection. A familiar defence, Dallas apart. Lonergan, Ayling, Jansson and Pennington. A midfield four of Alioski, Roofe, O’Kane and Vieira, up front Samuel Siaz just behind Lasogga.

Leeds started well and after a wonderful passage of play Ronaldo Vieira won the ball from Huddleston and passed to Samuel Siaz who fed Lasogga, the German finished superbly past Carson.

Not soon after it could and should have been two, Vieira ran through a gap in midfield but even with Siaz and Alioski in space the young midfielder failed to find either of his teammates and the chance was gone.

With the break minutes away Leeds looked to have a clear penalty denied. Alioski was clearly pushed inside the six yard box by Wisdom as he was about to meet Roofe's tempting cross, the referee waved away numerous protest from the Leeds players.

The early minutes after the break continued as the first ended with Leeds on top, it looked only a matter of time before one became two or three.

But if you don’t take advantage of your possession it can bite you in the bum and before time was up, it did.

With less than twenty minutes to go, Forsyth was free down the left and pulled a ball into the middle of the six yard box, three Leeds defenders let Sam Winnall stroll between them to score the equaliser for Derby. Shambolic and other words I can think of made me look at the three defenders with annoyance who had allowed the Derby striker to score.

Worse was to follow, as Leeds fell to another sucker punch inside the last ten minutes, substitute Hadi Sacko challenged Lawrence outside the box but the Derby player stumbled into the area and incredibly the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Winnall doubled his tally, coolly beating Lonergan.

An extra five minutes added to the end of the game failed to bring an equaliser. Derby made it four wins out of four and followed Sheffield United and Reading inflicting a home defeat on Leeds.

I cannot understand why when playing reasonably well, players stop doing the things they were doing well, allowing Derby into the game.

It’s not tactics it’s simply that certain players are switching off and not doing their jobs. This run of defeats is putting Thomas Christainsen in a position he could not have imagined pre-Millwall, the players have got the team into this mess and it’s only them who can alter things on the pitch and it’s time they roll up their well paid sleeves and start doing it, bloody quick!

Man of the Match: Eunan O’Kane, industrious and never stopped trying.

By Keith Ingham