Farke frustrated as Leeds stutter
Hosts fire blanks after penalty woes
No goals, no penalty, no perfect 10. Leeds may have nudged themselves back into the automatic promotion places but this was not a night for celebration.
Frustrated from start to finish by a Sunderland team that worked themselves to a standstill, Leeds huffed and puffed but should have been given the opportunity to decide a contest that left their fans howling from 12 yards. Where was VAR when they needed it?
As it was, referee Tim Robinson failed to see a handball by Sunderland skipper Luke o’Nien in the 76th minute and, with that, Daniel Farke’s men were denied the possibility of extending their relentless winning run at home to a tenth match.
Had their early pressure paid off, Elland Road would have been shaking but, instead, all the short, sharp passes Leeds wanted to play ended up being blocked off by Sunderland’s hard-working and well-organised ensemble.
You could sense once the early storm had blown out that Sunderland fancied their chances of doing damage of their own as they became more adventurous.
Key to it all was Jack Clarke, dashing down the left wing with creativity and daring. He registered the first two shots on target of the evening, in the 33rd and 38th minutes, but they were just too close to Ilan Meslier to cause the goalkeeper any anxiety..
Farke had been deferential to Sunderland’s prospects but, even still, he must have been anxious about the way his own team lacked the composure — the excellent Glen Kamara apart — where and when it mattered.
This was never more apparent than in time added on, when Patrick Bamford flashed a cross beyond the six-yard box.
A similar pattern developed after the interval. Leeds were implored to go forward whenever possible, Sunderland remained resilient and came so close to inflicting maximum damage on the hour but Ethan Ampadu cut out a Clarke cross that was intended for Jobe Bellingham. Night such as these at this time of year are always riddled with tension and the longer it went without a goal, the more fraught the locals came. This, they knew, was no time to be dropping points with promotion on the line.
Things did not turn out badly with Millwall beating Leicester but things could have been so much better had Leeds possessed a little more composure. No matter. There is plenty more mileage in this race . Now it is about holding their nerve.