Leeds United    0 ​

Sunderland       1  (Diarra pen 70)

 

3rd March 2026. English Premier League.

36,713.

​​

We are in one of those runs you sometimes get in football where nothing, but nothing goes right. We had the late disappointment at Villa Park, the battling performance against City from which we got nothing, and now Sunderland have stolen a point away, having basically sh*t-housed their way through the game. Sometimes it just goes like that.

​

To start with, I have to say, some teams are ruining the great game. City on Saturday was bad enough with their time-wasting and their ‘thou shalt not pass at any cost’ mentality, but Sunderland tonight took it to a whole new level. Once again, they tried their very best to limit the ball in play time, although, for once, referee Attewell did counter that with plenty of added time. But it is not only the lost playing time that affects a team's efforts to stay positive; it's also the loss of momentum each time the game is stopped, as play is broken up and the stadium support quietens, too. Sunderland apparently have been playing like this all season, and it’s worked well for them, but boy, I wouldn’t want to watch that every week. What is inescapable, though, is that if Leeds are to remain in the Premier League for any length of time, we must, sadly, take on board some of these dark arts – we’ve said it several times this season, our game management, particularly late in the game, needs improvement.

​

What we also have to admit, though, is that we were not at our best today, particularly in the final third, where, once again, we too often showed a lack of composure. We had 18 goal attempts to just three for the Black Cats, and yet we only hit the target 4 times – another feature of our play we’ve seen time and again this season. I wrote somewhere before the game that, if we played to our best form, we ought to win, but I added that we would also need the rub of the green, which we didn’t get.

​

The two key moments both went against us – Joe Rodon being inches offside when he brilliantly headed home Anton Stach’s free kick, and then, moments later, when Ethan Ampadu was called out by VAR for what did look like a deliberate second movement to usher the ball away with his arm. Even then, had Lady Luck been with Karl Darlow, he’d have saved what was a very poor penalty from Diarra. Instead, the ball thumped him on or about the hip and bounced into the net. Sometimes it is just not your day. I could probably add a third moment – the moment Pascal was manhandled to the ground by O’Nien in the first half…why was that not a penalty?

​

But we must not hide behind the bad luck issue, though; we have played much better than this, and we have to get back to our efficient ‘A’ game quickly. We have to start converting some of our corners - 9 again today - and we have to show more composure in the box.

 

We all await tomorrow's key games involving West Ham and Forest, and Thursday’s game between Spurs and Palace, to see exactly the damage we may have done. However, those results pan out, though, there will be more work to be done in the final nine games. We missed a great opportunity tonight to make survival almost secure.