Leeds United bottle job mars familiar let down as old face re-emerges to force door open

It says everything about how turgid this game was that the biggest talking point at full-time remains the referee. John Busby bottled a stonewall dismissal in the first half of Preston North End’s captain, Ben Whiteman.

The 28-year-old, the most cautioned player in the Championship this season with eight yellows, was correctly booked for tripping Brenden Aaronson as the American got away from him. The tackle on Jayden Bogle, which saw his studs raised, the leg extended into a lunge and the right-back hurt, was, at the very least, another yellow card.

In a lot of games, it would have been a red card in its own right, but to see no card at all was staggering to everyone in the press box. Many of us had begun drafting up updates on the impending red card as Pascal Struijk led the protests with Busby.

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Whiteman must not have believed it. Paul Heckingbottom expected it too and later admitted the only decision he had to make was how soon he substituted the midfielder. For Daniel Farke and an unnamed Preston staff member to end that incident as the only individuals with cards beggared belief.

Of course, the timing of that prospective red card would have transformed the match, given it would have come before the break. The Lilywhites spent most of the second half defending their own box anyway, but there would have been that fraction more space for Leeds United and a fraction less to worry about in the other direction.

Busby seemed to regain some control in the second half, but the Whiteman error was one of several misjudgements he seemed to make in the first half. It left the players frustrated and an increasing number of strong tackles as they tested where the line was with the official.

A late point is eventually delivered

For long periods, this was another dose of pain and frustration for Leeds on the road, but taking a point home is not an outcome to be sniffed at. Preston, for all of their limitations, had only lost two of their previous 13 games before kick-off.

Heckingbottom’s side have drawn a lot and struggle to get themselves over the line, but they are incredibly hard to beat. Leeds are far better than the vast majority of opposition in the Championship and should feel disappointed whenever they don’t win, but there has to be some merit in what they ground out on Saturday.

The hosts edged the first half with the only shot on target and an expected goal tally of 0.48 vs 0.46. The second period saw Leeds take full control. They generated 1.77 xG to Preston’s 0.19 and 12 shots to the hosts’ one.

Farke looked to his bench for the reinforcements the rest of the league would dream of. There was an element of the brute force, chuck-as-many-attackers-on-as-possible, approach we have seen before, but they did retain some structure and patience in their chance creation.

Long balls into the box were going to be meat and drink for Liam Lindsay and Jordan Storey, so they had to be precise in their build-up to the box. Daniel James and Manor Solomon were avenues which worked repeatedly and the former ultimately unlocked the door with another own-goal assist.

Yes, elements of this performance will sting and need improvement, but across a 46-game season, drawing away at a team with two losses in 13 is not a terrible outcome.

Familiar question marks about familiar players

If this was a game which bore the familiar hallmarks of an away day for Leeds, it hit similar notes for those players who have struggled to turn the tide on the terraces. Struijk, Joe Rodon and Bogle all had a hand in the sloppy Preston goal, but Illan Meslier’s already low stock took another hammering with it.

He should have been better protected and the chance never created, but once the ball is coming at him, there is no time for finger-pointing. It’s a shot which has to be saved at his near post.

There were good stops from Meslier on Tuesday night against Middlesbrough, when Ben Doak and Riley McGree threatened, which cannot be forgotten, but Saturday was another blot in his season-long copybook. Aaronson was another who left Deepdale with mounting questions about his place in the team.

It is now one goal involvement in the last eight matches for the central attacking midfielder in a team chasing the league title. On days like Saturday, when it is evidently not happening, again, on the road for the side, Aaronson has to be one of those players making it happen.

The 24-year-old has to provide that spark or moment of brilliance to hurt Preston or unbalance them. When that one moment came for him, in the 28th minute, Aaronson blasted the ball into the away end.

Sam Byram had cleverly taken the defender inside with him before smartly flicking the ball into Aaronson’s unmarked path. He ran at goal, on the angle, and had recovering defenders coming into his line of vision, but the moment was there for a clear shot at goal.

With reinforcements massing on the bench, there has never been a stronger case for a rethink from Farke in this role on the field. One of the reinforcements who did make an impact on Saturday was Patrick Bamford.

While Mateo Joseph and Joel Piroe toil in their own efforts to make an impact for Farke, Bamford is almost certainly ruing the lack of minutes he has had in recent weeks. If the 31-year-old were sharper, he may have had a chance at starting a game.

As it is, the England international is feeding off bench scraps and very nearly had his first goal since April 22 at Deepdale. Let’s get that chance out of the way. The stats websites had it marked down as 0.98 xG. That means, in exactly those circumstances, it’s a chance which would be finished 98 times out of 100.

Bamford, perfectionist that he wants to be, will be kicking himself. It was a great chance and a great set-up by Daniel James. The striker does deserve credit for putting himself in a position to make the chance what it was. The cross was fired at him and, in the moment, he felt a flick was the best way to swipe it home.

If he had his time again, Bamford might go for something clunkier and more conventional. Open goal aside, the number nine was promising. He battled well in a congested area and make some intelligent runs that asked questions of Preston’s defence.

He will need a few more cameos before Farke considers him ready to start, but Piroe and Joseph are leaving the door open to him.

A demon not quite exorcised

This was an improvement on the last trip to Lancashire. At Ewood Park, a sluggish start barely improved as the afternoon wore on, but, in Preston, it gave way to a more cohesive and dangerous reaction.

An away point is solid, but there are still concerns Farke has to address. Why does the team start so slowly away from home? Why are the early kick-offs such a problem at the end of a three-game week?

The visits to Preston, Blackburn and Swansea have all yielded concessions inside 23 minutes to go 1-0 down. Post-match, Farke made a point about some of his younger heads struggling to raise their game on the road when it is so easy to feed off Elland Road’s electricity at home.

Stoke City and Derby County trips will test both United’s travel legs and their resilience over a match-heavy schedule. Away draws need to turn into, at least, the odd win. It’s one in seven in that regard.