Town boss Paul Jewell was again left shaking his head after more calamitous individual defensive errors handed Leeds a 3-1 win they hardly deserved at Elland Road. Jewell admitted that the mistakes against the West Yorkshiremen took things to a new level.

Jewell said: “I think we were in control of the game, then I don’t know what the goalkeepers were doing. You have to see it to believe it.

“For 70 minutes we were winning the game. We’ve restricted Leeds to very few chances, if any at all gilt-edged.

“One long ball and our goalkeeper decides he’s coming out for it and handles outside the box. With 10 men we were always going to be up against it but to give the goals away in the fashion that we did. I’ve said it so many times this season, but I think today is another level.

“We’re shooting ourselves in the feet time and time again,” he continued, clearly frustrated by more points having been thrown away after what had been a promising first half display.

“There was so much good about today, about the way we’ve played. We were good in all departments up until decision-making by Alex and Sonko that cost us the sending off.”

Meanwhile, stand-in skipper Sonko said sorry for his mistakes on Twitter: "I do want to apologise for today. My error cost us."

Jewell felt the goals were as bad as the red card: “The second goal is a long ball from the full-back that the goalkeeper should come and collect. The third one bounced on the edge of our box. They’ve scored three goals, and that’s why we are where we are.”

The Town boss is on the lookout for more defenders, having targeted Leicester’s Sean St Ledger and Portsmouth pair Jason Pearce and Joel Ward during the transfer window after a campaign blighted by similar capitulations by his backline: “It’s not just because of today it’s been because of the whole season.

“Having said that, I thought Tommy Smith did well and as a team we weren’t in danger for 70 minutes.

"Leeds were getting very frustrated. We passed the ball better than them, we created more opportunities, we looked in control of the match, we were controlling the tempo of the game. The gifts we gave them they haven’t had to work hard for. Again, it’s the same old thing.”

He says managers can’t legislate for the type of errors made all too regularly by his players: “As a manager, as a coach, there are certain things you can affect, but the decisions I’ve seen today, they’re just bad decisions which have cost us goals.

“I’ll always take responsibility as I pick the team but when people see the goals on TV they’ll scratch their heads.

“It wasn’t as if we were coming under severe pressure. It was just a long ball that our centre-half was going to deal with, he was going to head it back to Alex, and for some reason has decided to come charging out.

“It was windy out there, very windy and I guess even our goal was a mistake from their goalkeeper.”

Jewell says there have been no developments on transfers: “All the offers we’ve made have been rejected but we will be trying to bring in players, there’s no doubt about that.

“I don’t know about [improved bids] yet. We’ll have to sit down and speak about how far away we are from the other clubs’ valuations."

He says he doesn’t expect anything to happen regarding Sean St Ledger, who is back in Leicester’s plans, at least in the short-term, while there are no offers for any members of the current squad: “There are no enquiries for our players. We’ve made lots of enquiries and are pursuing other targets. It’s the same old boring lines I’ve got for you.”

Leeds boss Simon Grayson admitted his team had gained their victory largely by taking advantage of Town’s mistakes but felt the match was not dissimilar to the one between the teams at Portman Road earlier in the season: “That’s what can happen in football matches.

“We were poor in the first half, we never really got going. We would liked to have made a better start in terms of possession of the ball, closing them down and working them.

“We went a goal behind to a soft goal, it took a slight deflection but Andy Lonergan holds his hands up, he should have done better with it, and I think we were fortunate to be only one down at half-time.

“But in the second half we got to grips with things, changed it around a little bit, spoke to the players and gave them the belief that we could go and win the game, never mind draw it because we had to do a lot of things a lot better. We knew that we could still create opportunities and maybe win the game.

“The sending off obviously changed the game and it mirrored the game at Portman Road earlier in the season.

“For part of that game we were the best team, the sending off changed the game and Ipswich went and won the game.

"We’ve won the game off the back of the sending off and we’re delighted to have done that.”

Photo: Action Images

OrkneyBlue added 18:28 - Jan 21 Hmmmm, what now then? The board have to take action, surely. Fed up!
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billlm added 18:29 - Jan 21 another shet goalkeeper
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tommyblues added 18:30 - Jan 21 come on pj just go were embarasing now
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Woodbridgian added 18:32 - Jan 21 Calamitous management more to blame if you ask we. JEWELL OUT
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bedsitfc added 18:33 - Jan 21 here we go its all jewells fault, bottom line is no manager will be able to turn this round without the backing of the board. we dont need to get on p.j's back its not all his fault. M.E needs to take some resposibility as we have not been able to add decent players to our ranks for some time now.
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larchblue added 18:33 - Jan 21 Seriously Mr Evans, your investment is going down the toilet. Jewell you obviously gave the nod for this keeper to come in, so the buck stops with you. Mr Evans you need to step in to sort this out, if this was your other business and the manager was operating like this i am sure he would have gone by now. Next years season ticket number will be lucky to hit 8000.
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Chris_ITFC added 18:33 - Jan 21 sonko's contract terminated by monday morning? ;)
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bradforblues added 18:34 - Jan 21 A new keeper comes in and over both games makes some howlers, he's fit right in then hasn't he ? JEWELL MUST GO !!
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bedsitfc added 18:35 - Jan 21 please mr Evans lets see that chq book get some daylight.
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cromwellblue added 18:35 - Jan 21 Naturally the knives will be out for Jewell but how can he legislate for these stupid errors. For the last 3 games (and others) we have had the asendence then fallen to. It in the final 30 minutes (or less). The players need to take a good look at themselves and shape up for 90 not just 60 minutes
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Stretchstar added 18:35 - Jan 21 Oh no, 45 years of supporting super town, but this is the worst i've seen, with no exaggeration, but i'm still not convinced this is PJ's doing, it IS just stupid decisions time and time again, by players, who just aren't good enough, simples! We outplay teams until our defence loses concentration, same every week, sort it out CLEGG not PJ, stop faffin around and get the players needed in, too many "business" decisions and not enough "love" for the club!! COYB forever!!

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WorcesterBlue added 18:35 - Jan 21 Didn't go - was that a fair assessment (to people who did go)?
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megamoth added 18:35 - Jan 21 SO sick of being told every week about our useless defence. We and everyone else knows that. Jewell - you're paid to put together a winning team, youre not paid to be a pundit and to tell us what is obvious and do nothing to correct it! What the feck happens in training! Well that's it for being undecided. Jewell. Go. Now.
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shaunminx added 18:36 - Jan 21 Of course there's no offers for any of our players. Who the feck would want any of them?
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Sindre94 added 18:38 - Jan 21 so poor, i still back jewell though
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tractorboy1961 added 18:38 - Jan 21 Problems stem right from the top. We have a faceless owner, a clueless CEO and a clown for a manager. We have players who are clearly not good enough and who don't seem to give two hoots as to what happens. We get daily press releases about who we are going to buy and no actual signings. We seem incapable of securing contracts for existing players. We fans are being taken for mugs with over inflated prices to get into the ground and also once inside. Same old story week in week out but the results speak for themselves. It's time we stopped heralding Evans as some kind of saviour and that the club would not be here if it wasn't for him. It would have survived and maybe we would be in a lower division but maybe the club would have had a soul and some heart which it clearly doesn't have now. I expect to see some major changes at PR this week otherwise I feel it sadly will be time we fans made a stand! We just want our club back!!

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alfromcol added 18:39 - Jan 21 Why oh why did we recruit this keeper. He has made mistakes in the last 3 games that have probably cost us each of the games. We didn't need another keeper we need central defenders and a RB. What the hell is going on?
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DalianAtkinson added 18:43 - Jan 21 Please consider that we were crap at the back under Keane and sacked him. With the benefit of hindsight how many of us would prefer Magilton in charge? I remember the EADT editor Terry Hunt calling for him to go and at the time i thought you must know something I don't, turns out he didn't and we've just got a damn sight worse. Careful what you wish for!
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alfromcol added 18:44 - Jan 21 another 10 minutes of madness.
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markw added 18:44 - Jan 21 i read today somewhere that mcarthy loved his time at leeds and would go back again ,,,,,send the clown back to Reading
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bardwell03 added 18:46 - Jan 21 Please anyone answer me this question. If Jewell left tomorrow and we got in say Neil Warnock, would it change anything? Or is it we need to change the team?
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warksonwater added 18:46 - Jan 21 Just returned from the match. So on top in the first half it was unbelievable. Could have been four up, Leeds didn't have a single shot on goal. Second half, still no real threat from Leeds so we do it for them. Sonko's mistake entirely for the sending off. Then Sonko an unbelievable error for the equaliser, then Sonko/Lee-Barrett leaving it to each other for the second. Don't normally like to blame one player, but Sonko must be dropped. Seriously, he cost us the game. The result was a farcical non-reflection of the game.

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TractorBoy666 added 18:48 - Jan 21 Well i may be going to the match at home against West Ham. Just for a laugh really. Only thing i can do at this time.
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WoodfordTim added 18:51 - Jan 21 So depressing. Maybe Ingimarsson & Sonko were the only centre backs that PJ could get to come here last summer. And poor Edwards goes walkabout too much. Any prospective new signing must take one look at our current league position and think twice. Thank goodness the teams below us in the table are even worse than us. But we play good football. We should have murdered Forest and held on to our lead against Blackpool. We are very close to being a top six side. But the table does not lie..........

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Sindre94 added 18:53 - Jan 21 We need... 2 CB'S 1 RB 1 ST and that Crewe kid
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