Leeds United 1 Bristol City 0: City deserved a point, insists Robins boss Pemberton

A goal from Souleymane Doukara papered over the cracks as Leeds United stretched their unbeaten home run to six matches and deepened Bristol City’s relegation worries with a 1-0 victory in a match Steve Evans called a “scrappy game”.

Pemberton said: “The one Aden missed near the end he would have buried last year.

“I was expecting the net to ripple and I couldn’t believe it when the ball went wide. We are disappointed with the scoreline because we didn’t deserve to lose, but we can get out of the trouble we are in. We have a stronger foundation now and are looking harder to beat.

“We probably need a bit more experience in the middle of the park and a bit more composure with our final ball, but I was at Leeds for four years so I know what it is like to play here. Some of my players were experiencing the mental test of playing at Elland Road for the first time.

“The result was a bitter pill to swallow because Leeds had one chance and scored from it. That is what happens when you are where we are in the table.”

United travel to Brentford – 3-1 victors at Preston on Saturday – tomorrow night. The Bees took the lead through Greg Cunningham’s own goal on 22 minutes, Adam Reach equalised two minutes later, but Alan Judge (43) and John Swift (80) wrapped up the win.