Daniel Farke was left disappointed by his Leeds team’s “lazy” performance after falling 2-1 to Preston in a spicy contest at Deepdale.
High-fliers Leeds lost the opportunity to grab any points on the road after keeper Illan Meslier was shown a red early after the break for pushing Preston striker Milutin Osmajic in the face.
With the Montenegro international rolling around on the floor, referee Josh Smith went straight to his top pocket for the red card before Alan Browne put the home side ahead two minutes later.
Following the game, Farke questioned the severity of the incident due Osmajic’s reaction.
“It’s disappointing because the second player [Osmajic] really has nothing to do with it,” he said.
“He’s come in and tried to provoke Illan then he goes and rolls around 10 times.
“Maybe the referee should sense what was really happening there. Maybe a yellow card would have been a fairer outcome.
“Having said that I can’t complain because we’ve gone and lost to a Preston team who have worked and fought so hard.
“We were a bit lazy in certain moments, but sometimes this does happen after we had been praised so much during the week.”
With just 10 men, Leeds bounced back with an equaliser in the 83rd minute, Dan James tripped by Ali McCann in the box, leaving Pascal Struijk to slot home from the spot to make it 1-1.
The game was not level for long, before Liam Millar’s heroics pushed Preston ahead once more in a storming run that caught Farke’s team off guard.
“We didn’t create nearly enough chances, and then in the second half early, we have the key moment with the red card,” added Farke.
“We produced a great reaction after that, the lads were brave and we got ourselves an equaliser that I felt we deserved. We then allow Preston to make it 2-1 though.
“Millar has been allowed to run 40 yards at us and then he’s got himself a dream goal.”
Preston manager Ryan Lowe was pleased with his team’s change in attitude and performance after a tough few weeks.
With Browne and Miller linking up on several occasion and both finding the back of the net, Lowe’s side provided some bite, including a brilliant first half, in a tough Boxing Day battle.
“The lads were excellent today, both with and without the ball,” he said.
“They were fantastic, they acquitted themselves brilliantly from start to finish.
“I thought we were the better team in the first half – we had that edge about us. Then in the second half after the red card we knew we’d have to be dogged and resolute.
“Of course, the game changed a bit after the red card, but we kept going and in the end we’ve got a big that win we deserved.
“We’ve all been disappointed over recent weeks, but the results we’ve had have definitely not been for the lack of trying.
“I know we might not be blessed with as much quality in our squad as ones like Leeds, but every one of my players shows a never-say-die attitude.”
Al-Nassr 3-1 Al-Khaleej: Ronaldo nets twice and passes up penalty in cup semi-final
Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the scoresheet with two goals as Al-Nassr beat Al-Khaleej 3-1 to reach the final of the King Cup of Champions on Wednesday.
Ronaldo scored either side of half-time as Al-Nassr teed up a final clash with Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, who beat Al-Ittihad 2-1 in the other semi-final on Tuesday.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star took advantage of an error from opposing goalkeeper Ibrahim Sehic to open the scoring 17 minutes in, then tapped home at the second attempt to make it a double shortly before the hour mark.
That goal could have made it a hat-trick for the Portugal star, but he passed up the chance to take a first-half penalty after Ivo Rodrigues handled in the area, Sadio Mane instead stepping up to blast his kick into the top corner.
Fawaz Al Terais was on target late on for Al-Khaleej, but that proved a mere consolation in a one-sided affair which saw Al-Nassr rack up 21 shots and 3.78 expected goals (xG), with their opponents managing just nine shots totalling 1.37 xG.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo's mini drought over
Ronaldo was frustrated against Al-Khaleej in the Saudi Pro League on Saturday, but he was back on song against the same opponents on Wednesday to end his mini drought of two games.
While Ronaldo's 43 touches were the fewest of any outfielder to start for Al-Nassr, he managed seven shots, five shots from inside the area and four dribbles – all game-high figures.
Coventry City 1-2 Ipswich Town: Burgess puts Tractor Boys on brink of promotion
Ipswich Town took a huge step to Premier League promotion after Cameron Burgess snatched a second-half winner in Tuesday's 2-1 victory over Coventry City.
Kieran McKenna's side require just one point from their final Championship game against League One-bound Huddersfield Town to go up, after a decisive victory at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
Kieffer Moore blasted in an eighth-minute opener for the visitors after Wes Burns' crafty cutback pass, easing the pressure on Ipswich and dampening the top-two hopes of third-placed Leeds United.
Haji Wright levelled in the second half, only for Burgess to squeeze a winning goal past Bradley Collins five minutes later, putting Ipswich on the brink of top-flight football for the first time since their relegation in 2002.
A draw against Huddersfield, who are 23rd and three points adrift of safety, would secure promotion at Portman Road, marking just the fourth instance of back-to-back promotions in the Premier League era.
Having managed to climb out of League One, McKenna's entertaining side would join Watford, rivals Norwich City and Southampton as the only sides to achieve the feat.
Data Debrief: Ipswich end winless run at perfect time
Prior to this game, only five teams had won fewer points in the Championship than Ipswich's six since the beginning of April (W1 D3 L1).
Yet McKenna's men refused to let their top-flight push derail as the Tractor Boys ended a four-game winless run to move within touching distance of history.
Al Ittihad 1-2 Al Hilal: Holders into King's Cup final
Al Hilal overcame Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's red card as Saud Abdulhamid's late goal sealed a 2-1 victory over Al Ittihad in the King's Cup semi-finals.
Without Karim Benzema, Al Ittihad ultimately lacked the firepower to make their numerical advantage count in Tuesday's clash.
Former Lazio midfielder, who joined Al Hilal as part of their spending spree last year, received a straight red card in the 42nd minute.
Al Ittihad's Abderrazzaq Hamed-Allah cancelled out Micheal's opener, but Abdulhamid popped up with the winner in the 81st minute.
Al Hilal are 10-time King's Cup winners, having won their 10th title last season.
The Saudi Pro League leaders, who are still without the injured Neymar, will now face either Al Khaleej or Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr in the final at the end of May.
Data Debrief: Malcom in the middle
Al Hilal might be missing their star Brazilian Neymar, but his compatriot Malcom is delivering when it comes to playmaking.
The former Zenit attacker set up both of Al Hilal's goals, creating three chances in total and registering a pass accuracy of 92.6 per cent, better than any of his team-mates.
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