Former Blues loanee Chris Wood’s 35th minute header saw Leeds United to a 1-0 victory over Town at Elland Road. The Whites might have won by a more comfortably margin having come close on a number of further occasions, while the Blues never looked like getting anything from the game once they had gone behind.
Town started with the same XI which began last week’s 0-0 draw with Aston Villa, however, Teddy Bishop and Luke Varney both missed out on places on the bench.
Bishop broke his nose against Villa, while one-time Whites striker Varney suffered a hamstring problem during Monday’s 4-0 U23s victory over Leeds. Andre Dozzell and Josh Emmanuel replaced them among the subs.
Hadi Sacko struck the first shot of the game for the home side in the fourth minute but screwed his effort high, wide and deep into the stand.
Neither side had threatened again before Wood cut in from the left past Christophe Berra and smashed a shot which beat Bartosz Bialkowski but crashed off the post. Kalvin Phillips scraped the follow-up well wide.
On 12 Brett Pitman, again playing as the lone striker with Tom Lawrence in behind him, required treatment for an ankle problem after a strong but fair challenge from Pontus Jansson.
Grant Ward was inches away from putting the Blues in front right on the quarter hour. The former Spurs man hit what’s becoming a trademark shot from the edge of the box which deflected away from the target off Kyle Bartley and appeared to graze the outside of the post on its way wide.
From Lawrence’s resultant corner from the left Berra powered a header over with Wood challenging him.
Pitman was eventually forced off by his earlier injury in the 25th minute with Leon Best taking over.
Two minutes later, Adam Webster played in Ward down the right and the winger sent over a cross which a defender only just managed to divert away from Jonathan Douglas as the former Leeds midfielder looked to volley goalwards.
The Blues had shaded the half but without having been able to create any clear-cut chances, however, on 36 the home side went in front.
Charlie Taylor was played into space on the Leeds left, crossed and Wood rose above Berra to head home his seventh of the season.
Wood, Blues defender Tommy Smith’s room-mate when on international duty with New Zealand, shot over on the turn on 42, then two minutes later Lawrence overhit a Town freekick from just outside the area on the right, which had been won by Best.
There was a scare for the Blues in injury time when Lawrence dallied on the ball inside his area following a Leeds corner but Berra reacted quickly to close down Wood and block his shot.
Up until Wood’s goal, when the one-time Town loanee outmuscled his former team-mate Berra with whom he had spent most of the half battling, the Blues had been on top but without creating a serious chance other than Ward’s deflected effort and Berra’s header from the subsequent corner.
The goal gave the Whites confidence, however, and they were well on top during the spell up to the break.
Six minutes after the restart Lawrence and Ward exchanged passes as the Blues broke from their own half but the ex-Spurs man misread Best’s run and sent his pass beyond the substitute.
Leeds were starting the second half where they ended the first and on 54 Pablo Hernandez sent a low cross-shot in from the right which Bialkowski claimed.
A minute later the Blues’ Polish keeper prevented Wood from scoring his second of the game when he rushed off his line sharply to block from the New Zealander after he had been played in on goal by Hernandez.
Moments later, Webster, who looked to have suffered a knock, was replaced by Josh Emmanuel with skipper Luke Chambers moving into the centre of the defence.
Leeds should have doubled their lead in the 61st minute when Freddie Sears was caught in possession midway inside his own half and Wood was fed with only Chambers and Bialkowski to beat.
The Town skipper stood his ground and blocked the striker’s shot and the ball cannoned across to Sacko, who somehow smashed wide. Bialkowski subsequently left Sears in no doubt of his opinion on the former West Ham man surrendering the ball in such a dangerous area.
The Blues were fortunate still to be only one goal behind having made little impression in the second half with the home side dominating. On 70 Phillips struck a freekick from the left which Bialkowski clawed over.
As the game moved into its final 15 minute Ward limped off and was replaced by Kevin Bru with Lawrence moving up front alongside Best, who had shown his ability in flashes but had largely been peripheral.
Almost immediately Bru was booked for a foul on Stuart Dallas just outside the Town box. While Hernandez prepared to take a freekick he eventually hit straight into the Blues wall, Sacko was replaced by Kemar Roofe.
Town finally started to make some impact as an attacking force in the 80th minute, an Emmanuel cross from the right eventually ending up at the feet of Jonas Knudsen, whose shot deflected wide. In the aftermath of the corner a grounded Berra was booked.
Bialkowski mis-hit a clearance to Wood on 84 but Berra did well to get back and the former Millwall man eventually hit a weak shot through to the Town keeper.
Seconds later, Skuse did well to get back to slide the ball away from sub Alex Mowatt when he otherwise looked to be in on goal.
With three minutes remaining Lawrence won a freekick just outside the Leeds area to the right. Sears, who twice went close to ending his goal drought - now 35 games - with freekicks last week against Aston Villa, this time shot high and wide.
A minute later, a Town throw from the right was cleared out to Lawrence, whose mis-hit shot was flicked towards goal by Bru but home keeper Robert Green was untroubled.
In three minutes of injury time with the Blues pushing virtually everyone forward, Wood was sent breaking away on the Leeds left but failed to find an untracked Mowatt with his cross.
A second Leeds goal continued to look more likely than a Town equaliser in the seconds prior to referee Stephen Martin bringing the match to an end.
The Blues never really got back into the game after going behind to Wood’s goal 10 minutes before the break.
Town were unable to threaten in the second half until the closing stages and even then keeper Green wasn’t required to make a serious save.
Leeds had chances to increase their lead but the Blues’ backline made their usual blocks and Bialkowski his now customary impressive saves, while some of the home side’s finishing could have been more clinical.
Overall, a disappointing result and second half performance in particular - the poorest since the Brentford game - which sees Town drop to 14th ahead of Tuesday’s home game against Brighton and Hove Albion.
Leeds United: Green, Ayling, Jansson, Bartley (c), Taylor, Phillips, O’Kane, Hernandez (Mowatt 82), Dallas (Grimes 86), Sacko (Roofe 77), Wood. Unused: Silvestri, Coyle, Cooper, Antonsson.
Town: Bialkowski, Chambers (c), Webster (Emmanuel 56), Berra, Knudsen, Skuse, Douglas, Ward (Bru 75), Sears, Lawrence, Pitman (Best 25). Unused: Gerken, Kenlock, Grant, Dozzell. Referee: Stephen Martin (Staffordshire). Att: 22,554 (Town: 902).