YEP Jury: Leeds United finally get the rub of the green, but still lack a cutting edge

DAVID WATKINS

Before this game I anticipated it would be tough and that a draw was the likely outcome but at the end of it I have to say I was still disappointed.

It is disappointing to hand the opposition another goal so similar to the two we gifted Blackburn last week; another easy header from a corner kick with one of our least proficient headers of the ball making the challenge. It was also disappointing that Leeds couldn’t find the second goal that would have kept us at the top of the table with our poor finishing once again proving to be our Achilles heel.

We came close of course, with Jack Clarke flashing an inviting ball across the face of goal and then Pablo Hernandez pulled off one of those delicious flicks off his back foot that skimmed just wide.

We should be grateful though that the referee and his assistant saw fit to allow the Kemar Roofe goal to stand when replays clearly show he bundled it into the net with his arm; it was most un-Leeds-like to see the officials debate the incident and then still give the benefit of the doubt to us!

Man of the match: Pontus Jansson.

ANDY RHODES

It’s about time Leeds had the rub of the green. There’s no arguing Kemar Roofe’s equaliser was controversial, but it was certainly deserved.

With the stats in their favour Leeds might have deserved even more, but it’s a growing trend that teams are making them work hard for their points.

But Marcelo Bielsa will have come across teams who’ve parked the bus countless times in his career and he’ll know how to get the better of them. He’ll undoubtedly have to draw upon these experiences as the season goes on.

Having said that, he’s a perfectionist so results like this will grind. Leeds might have dominated the stats but on the one that really matters he won’t be satisfied. But there’ll be positives to take away from the game.

Like Leeds, Forest like to have the ball and play, and ultimately, they never looked a serious threat which is a credit to United’s style of play.

If they can start finding the back of the net again they’ll be back to their best.

Man of the match: Adam Forshaw.

KEITH INGHAM

Leeds were denied top spot by a determined Nottingham Forest side whose time-wasting antics should have been punished by the lenient referee.

It could have been worse for the home side but for Kemar Roofe’s disputed equaliser. Leeds sit second in the table behind Sheffield United who beat Wigan 4-2 with ex-Leeds striker Billy Sharp grabbing a hat-trick.

Leeds will be thinking that this was two points dropped because their possession stats showed they deserved the three points, but as I’ve mentioned previously it’s goals that win matches.

What annoyed me and most of the 34,000 plus crowd was that another goal was gifted to the opposition, Jack Robinson rising highest to head the ball past Bailey Peacock-Farrell on 11 minutes.

United’s equaliser came with less than 10 minutes to play. Jack Clarke fired a ball across the penalty area and it was hit back across by Mateusz Klich. Waiting to pounce was Roofe. It hit his knee and bounced up unto his forearm and into the empty net.

Despite numerous Forest player’s protests the referee gave the goal after consultations with his linesman. Leeds could have even won it if Pablo Hernandez’s audacious flick had gone in, instead it agonisingly went past the far post.

Four points out of three games isn’t brilliant but if Leeds can still stay where they are when not playing well it will be interesting to see when they again hit top gear where it will lead.

Man of the match: Adam Forshaw.

MIKE GILL

Leeds started and ended the game in a lively fashion. Unfortunately it was Forest who opened the scoring when Jack Robinson converted a corner after only 11 minutes.

The conceding of yet another set piece so early in the game showed United’s weakness in this area once again. The fact that it was Forest’s only credible effort to score made it no less easy to bear.

Adam Forshaw was rightly started, being preferred to the mercurial Samuel Saiz and there was no place for Jack Harrison in the squad. After 25 minutes Luke Ayling broke down after trying to play on after being clattered. He was replaced by Tom Pearce. As United pressed desperately for an equaliser Saiz and Jack Clarke joined the fray. When United finally did equalise, Kemar Roofe’s effort was hotly disputed by the Forest defence led by Costel Pantillimon and Michael Dawson as the ball had struck the striker’s hand on the way in.

At almost the last gasp, Pablo Hernandez almost flicked home a winner which was inches away from the far post.

A fair result from a breathtaking game.

Man of the match: Adam Forshaw.

MATTHEW EVANS

This felt like a game that we simultaneously deserved to win and lose.

We were the better side for almost the entire 90 minutes and limited Nottingham Forest to the one chance they were able to take.

At the same time, Kemar Roofe’s goal was a handball as clear as day from the upper blocks of the Gelderd End so, quite how the officials missed it at pitch level, is a question only they can answer.

We should be grateful that a refereeing decision finally went our way because it masked a fatal weakness in Marcelo Bielsa’s side – namely a chronic lack of cutting edge in the final third of the field.

Too often balls are being tapped around the fringes of the box or rolled back to defenders. When a ball does come in with pace and conviction, there’s mostly nobody gambling to get a crucial touch on it.

Luke Ayling’s injury will be a major negative from the weekend and, while it was a good point in the end, the draws are adding up a bit too quickly for United at the moment.

Man of the match: Adam Forshaw.

SHAUN SMITH

The Elland Road Park and Ride facility extends to the pitch every other Saturday with Nottingham Forest the latest visitors to park the bus.

Leeds continue to insist on conceding first, meaning that we get to see how good various Championship sides are at timewasting. Such was their procrastination, Kemar Roofe was so anxious to retrieve the ball after Klich’s ‘marvellous goal’ he almost handballed. Indeed, he has been credited in some newspapers as actually scoring the goal. Thankfully the referee read the situation perfectly, the goal given and a point was rescued. What might have been lost by many fans in the frustration of two points dropped was that in some aspects this was a very good performance by the Whites, whose recovery of the ball from a decent looking side was exemplary.

What you lose in the enigmatic with Samuel Saiz you gain in the pragmatic with Forshaw and this was a game for the pragmatists. Leeds, to be very pragmatic, should really consider scoring first. Especially at home. However, perhaps it’s on their travels where they will find richer pickings. With the fans migrating to Wigan next week, perhaps the obligation on the ‘home’ side to actually play some football might be more to United’s liking.

Man of the match: Adam Forshaw.