Town suffered their heaviest defeat of the Kieran McKenna era as they were comfortably beaten 4-0 by Leeds United in this afternoon’s third-v-second clash at Elland Road. Home skipper Pascal Struijk put the Whites ahead with an eighth-minute header, a Leif Davis own goal against his old club put Leeds two in front on 25, before Crysencio Summerville’s penalty just before the whistle made it 3-0 at the break. Seven minutes after the restart, Joel Piroe added a fourth for the Whites, who are now seven points behind the second-placed Blues.

Boss McKenna made one change from the team which drew 2-2 at home with Norwich City last week with Axel Tuanzebe coming in for Luke Woolfenden.

Tuanzebe joined Cameron Burgess at the heart of the defence with Woolfenden dropping to the bench, where there was one further change with Dominic Ball coming in and Dane Scarlett left out of the 20.

Leeds named the same side as drew 1-1 at home to Coventry a week ago but with Ian Poveda and Junior Firpo replacing Jaidon Anthony and Luke Ayling among the subs.

The home side began the game on the front foot but on five Nathan Broadhead did well to find Wes Burns in space on the right but his cross was too long for George Hirst.

However, the Whites tool the lead in the eighth minute. A corner was whipped over from the left, Vaclav Hladky saved Joel Piroe’s header sharply down to his right but home skipper Struijk was there to nod into the empty net.

Town were unhappy with the goal as Conor Chaplin had appeared to have been fouled in the move ahead of the corner, referee Stephen Martin, the official who disallowed Marcus Harness’s goal at home to Barnsley last season, having waved away the forward’s protests.

With their crowd now in full voice, Leeds went looking for a second, counter-attacking after a Blues move had broken down before Dan James shot wide from an angle on the right of the box.

As the game passed the 20-minute mark, the Blues were struggling to get out of their own half with Leeds controlling the game and dominating.

However, on 23, the Blues put together a neatly-worked move from which Broadhead shot just wide of Leeds keeper Illan Meslier’s right post. Chaplin had been kicked up in the air in the build-up by Ethan Ampadu, referee Martin indicating he had played the advantage, with the Wales international fortunate to have avoided a yellow card.

But three minutes later, it was 2-0. Leeds broke with Town having too many men caught up field - again with a suspicion of a foul as the Blues lost the ball - and Summerville got round the outside of Harry Clarke on the left of the box and sent over a low cross which beat Burgess but struck former Leeds man Davis on the shin and bounced over the line.

Town went looking for the goal which would give them a foothold in the match and on 27 they went very close. Davis crossed from the left to Chaplin not far outside the area from where the Blues joint-top scorer struck a shot which beat Meslier to his left but hit the post and bounced away.

Two minutes later, Clarke was shown the game’s first yellow card after the ball caught his arm after it had bounced awkwardly to him as he looked to cut out a through ball for Summerville, who had been the home side’s biggest threat.

On 34, James joined the Town right-back in the book for a foul on Davis as the left-back was bursting from deep on the left.

The Blues’ and Davis’s half got even worse a minute before the scheduled end when the Whites went 3-0 in front via a penalty.

Summerville was played in on the left of the area and Davis upended the Dutch forward. Referee Martin had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and it looked the correct decision.

Summerville took the kick himself and sent it high into the roof of the net to Hladky’s right with the keeper moving to his left.

The half-time whistle was greeted enthusiastically by the home support with their side having dominated and all but won the match in the first half.

The Blues had never been able to get on top during the period with Leeds having got the early goal and then continued to control the game from there, with their goals notably the result directly or indirectly of counter-attacks after Town forays forward had broken down.

Davis was unfortunate with the own goal, but could have little complaint about the penalty.

Three minutes after the restart, Leeds went close to getting their fourth. Piroe was sent away on the right of the box and smashed a shot from a tight angle which beat Hladky but slammed against the underside of the bar, across the six-yard area and away from goal.

The home side had continued the second half as they had ended the first and in the 52nd minute, they made it 4-0.

Tuanzebe and Clarke both failed to clear when they had opportunities to do so as Leeds once again counter-attacked and the ball fell to Piroe just inside the area from where the former Swansea man lashed into the net.

Perhaps looking to do the Blues psychological damage in the battle for automatic promotion, the buoyant Whites continued looking for goals, Archie Gray seeing an effort deflect wide four minutes after the fourth goal.

On the hour, Tuanzebe was booked after he and Summerville tangled as the Leeds wideman burst towards the area on the left. The Whites made their first change as they prepared to take the free-kick, Wilfried Gnonto taking over from James.

In the 65th minute, Broadhead was yellow-carded for a frustrated late foul on Gray after a promising through ball to Hirst had been cut out.

While Gray was undergoing treatment, Town swapped skipper Morsy, who moments earlier had come close to his 10th yellow card of the season for a challenge the referee had harshly deemed a foul, Hirst, Broadhead and Burns for Ball, Kayden Jackson, Marcus Harness and Omari Hutchinson.

Leeds went close to a fifth in the 71st minute when Georginio Rutter hit a 20-yard effort which struck the top of the bar and looped over. Soon after, the Whites switched Djed Spence for Firpo and Glen Kamara for Ilia Gruev.

With the game effectively all over, Leeds fans began to cheer their side’s passes, while the Blues tried to keep looking for a goal but unconvincingly.

Leeds swapped Rutter and Piroe for Mateo Joseph and Patrick Bamford in the 82nd minute, emphasising the strength in depth the Whites, relegated from the Premier League last season, possess.

Town switched Davis for Brandon Williams for the final six minutes with the former Leeds man, who had been booed by his old supporters earlier in the game, leaving the field on the far side and making his way round the pitch, getting some stick but more applause, which he understatedly acknowledged, as he did so.

As the game entered five minutes of time added on, Ball was booked for a foul in the centre circle when the midfielder looked to have won the ball.

The final minutes were played out without further incident before the home fans’ celebrations began at the whistle.

Town can have no complaints about the result having been well beaten by a Leeds side which was on top from the start with their expensively-assembled front players making the Blues pay, particularly on the counter-attack.

At the other end, Town, who were never in control of the game at any stage, unusually didn’t manage a shot on target with Chaplin’s strike off the woodwork the nearest to a visitors’ goal.

The defeat, the Blues’ first double of the season with only West Brom and Leicester able to repeat the feat, is the first time a McKenna Town team has been beaten by more than two goals, something which itself has only happened three times previously.

But Town, who it shouldn’t be forgotten were two divisions below Leeds last season and have a budget a fraction of the home side’s, remain second in the Championship, still seven points ahead of the Whites as the season reaches its halfway point.

Leaders Leicester, who beat table-propping Rotherham United 3-0 at home later in the afternoon, visit the Blues on Boxing Day with Town hoping to bounce back from today’s disappointment.

Leeds: Meslier, Gray, Spence (Firpo 73), Struijk (c), Rodon, Ampadu, Kamara (Gruev 73), James (Gnoto 61), Summerville, Rutter (Joseph 82), Piroe (Bamford 82). Unused: Darlow, Cooper, Poveda, Gelhardt.

Town: Hladky, Clarke, Tuanzebe, Burgess, Davis (Williams 86), Morsy (c) (Ball 67), Luongo, Burns (Hutchinson 67), Chaplin, Broadhead (Harness 67), Hirst (Jackson 67). Unused: Walton, Woolfenden, Taylor, Ladapo. Referee: Stephen Martin (Staffordshire). Att: 36,758.

Photo: Action Images

ButchersBrokenNose added 14:34 - Dec 23 Well, that was a wake-up! Second to every ball, no fight, and no ideas when they stopped us playing. I know some will say, “They’re full of Premier League players,” but who do you think we’ll be playing if we go up? We’re still in the driving seat for promotion, but if Ashton is as good a planner as he says he is, he’ll be buying players in January who can not only contribute to promotion but also compete at the highest level. A win against Leicester is now a must, not only for the points but for the damage a defeat will do to the team’s confidence if they know they can’t beat our rivals for automatic promotion.

3

TimmyH added 14:36 - Dec 23 Played too expansively today and with our defence only meant one thing but do we have another game plan?...only surprising thing in my opinion is just how easy they made it. Defence really needs to up it's game, not one defender other than Davis (due to his attacking abilities) would I pencil in on the starting sheet of late. Well we usually bounce back after such a game but we have Leicester next - we're a bit of a different animal at home but we'll see what the fall out from this game brings.

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gazzaipswich added 14:37 - Dec 23 Totally outplayed, shows lot of work to be done , stronger and quicker midfielder to replace luongo , new defender to cover Burgess absence shortly. Tuanzebe is not a solution. Leeds players a lot better quality. Perhaps a plan B against top sides away from home?
12

DeliasMashedPotato added 14:38 - Dec 23 we got it a bit wrong today unfortunately. have to be more defensive and play counter attack against teams like leeds or you will get punished. leicester couldnt do it and we couldnt do it at PR. oh well, we move on, we dont have to play leeds again and we are 7 points clear of them. lets get a good performance against leicester out of the way and maybe 1 or 2 january signings and we could be well on our way to the prem. Still exceeding everybodys expectations this season. great support once again. COYB

15

hyperbrit added 14:38 - Dec 23 everything happens for the best.Now we know for sure what must be done.
5

EssexTractor added 14:39 - Dec 23 This season we have played brilliantly surprising so many. But today we actually played against a team that was full of premiership players who played with premiership ability We are still second because we have played brilliantly but everyone owners , management players have to realise that promotion will mean matches like todays every week And so yes a lesson today and how will we react We couldn’t have a better test than the Boxing Day Match Await the outcome of that before the criticism that can come , but ideally whatever it is we will need reinforcements to maintain our position in the second half of the season

10

Lightningboy added 14:39 - Dec 23 Disappointing but all 4 of their goals were jammy PLUS the total plank of a ref gave us zero..sadly too many of our players were just not at the races today,a bit like the WBA game. We need to get this into perspective though - 2nd at Christmas is beyond any of our dreams - what a year it's been - think we def need to ship out & bring in 2 or 3 in January - another striker to help Hirsty out is a must because the strikers on the bench are just nowhere near up to it. Anyhow,Like I said - what a 2023 it's been - Merry Christmas all.

17

ImAbeliever added 14:41 - Dec 23 Overwhelmed
0

Broadbent23 added 14:41 - Dec 23 To be honest we lost to the better team. Summerville is a cheat . There appeared to be no tactics from KM and all Leeds had to do was to break up our patterns. Probably cursed by the Norwich connection. The worst defensive display this season, they felt like strangers. Maybe Morsey avoiding a card should get MOM. We move on with our 7 point advantage and prepare for Boxing Day. KEEP CALM the season is still alive.

2

pauldart added 14:41 - Dec 23 bad day yes. not a good performance yes - but did anybody really think we would be 7pts clear in 2nd place of championship when this time last year we were playing and losing to Wycombe Wanderers. Don't be too down and have a good christmas - onwards and upwards - COYB
19

ImAbeliever added 14:41 - Dec 23 Hey Ho, Ho ho
1

OliveR16 added 14:42 - Dec 23 The previous 22 games do not alter the fact that was an abysmal and unacceptable performance - and in a crucial game. No excuses, no platitudes, just a big, urgent need to improve all round. Definitely the most disappointing performance of the McKenna era.
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Lukeybluey added 14:42 - Dec 23 Well...thought we were definitely second best throughout, slow, laboured, second to every ball, even our passing we moved the ball way too slow, never really fought for it, leeds have high quality players and we never really laid glove on them disappointingly. I hope this sets a fire in the boys for boxing day, and we for sure need to make some high quality signings in January to hep us get over the line

7

RedDust added 14:44 - Dec 23 Leeds made that match there “cup final” I sincerely hope they lose there next game so they expended all that energy only to not be any further ahead.
5

chepstowblue added 14:45 - Dec 23 Not a time for knee jerk reactions as the outcome was fairly predictable. A chastening experience however. Not so much a wake up call, moreso the realisation that they are a lot better than us. Incredible to think that we're still 7pts ahead of them when on today's evidence there looked like there was still two divisions between us. They showed us little respect, we looked terrified of them. We think we have pace and intensity......we do until we play someone who have real pace and intensity. I'm sure we'll bounce back....probably not on boxing day, but sooner rather than later. I've so much faith in this squad, and each crumb of that faith in their ability will be needed to maintain an automatic place.

15

suffolkpunchdrunk added 14:46 - Dec 23 Outclassed today, second best all over the pitch. Beaten twice by Leeds this season but we are still in second place and 7 points ahead of them! A bad result but still so much more to be positive about. Merry Christmas everyone!
13

TimmyH added 14:47 - Dec 23 warktheline - agree with your post and would have marked you up and then I read the last paragraph. You two need to drop it and give each other a Xmas hug, after all we all support the same club although we have different ways of showing it! Happy Xmas all and a Leicester win is on my wish list :)
3

AYACCA added 14:48 - Dec 23 You can't win em all. Still having a great campaign
5

carsey added 14:49 - Dec 23 Disappointing today for sure but we have had a fantastic last 12 months with McKenna at the helm so I will not be critical of anyone. Hopefully the players will realise if they didn't already know what is required to get into the Premier League and more importantly what it takes to stay there. Merry Christmas and roll on Boxing Day.
5

JewellintheTown added 14:54 - Dec 23 Sloppy & out of character performance from the whole team today. Unlucky moments for both sides & a bit of sbad reffing. Leif not at the races & felt sorry for him in some way. Embarrassing & painful for us all but nows not the time to get on the teams back. 3 losses all season now, playing Leeds unbeated at home. Look at the positives. For a £30m+ vs £220m+ squad, we didn't play 7x worse (maybe 4x though). We'll keep punching above our weight & enjoying the ride. Let's welcome Leicester next week like Leeds fans did us today.

0

warktheline added 14:54 - Dec 23 @timmy, merry Christmas to you too buddy! Sorry I’ll never drop it, he’s continually posting negative nonsense….sitting eagerly waiting for a defeat, a draw, or even conceding a goal! Have a good one Timmy !
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Reality_2021 added 14:54 - Dec 23 That isn’t a surprise result with their signings and just coming from the Premiership. Could be the same again Boxing Day. Just a few things from the game. 1) surprised the starting 11 that lost the first half 3-0 then all come out for the start of the second. 2) starting to become clearer and clearer that if plan A doesn’t work, we have no plan B to fall back on. Still 2nd at Christmas is an unexpected present for us all to enjoy. Let’s hope January brings a few late presents in January with some goods signings to help us push on. “Merry Christmas ya filthy animals”

4

blueboy1981 added 14:59 - Dec 23 Enough said - the Score says all that is necessary !!
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SpiritOfJohn added 15:02 - Dec 23 At half-time I felt the scoreline was a bit harsh on us, with a clear foul on Chaplin before the first, an own goal and then a penalty - and Chaplin hitting the post. However, second half we were lucky to only concede once as we were chasing shadows. No doubt this is a foretaste of what the Premier League would have in store - just look at the struggles of Burnley. It's not the Promised Land after all, so all the more reason to enjoy the good days when they come.

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dubblue added 15:02 - Dec 23 It’s not the defeat I was disappointed with it was the manner of the defeat we never looked like scoring other than Chappers hitting the post they could easily have scored more. Leicester on Tuesday will be a big test get a point and I will be happy. I think our defence needs to be the priority when it comes to the January window if we don’t strengthen the squad we will probably not hang on to the top 2 but should be good enough for the playoffs and that remains an achievement!

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