Daniel Farke believes Leeds United earned a "good point" after claiming a dramatic 1-1 draw away to Preston North End on Saturday, although he has aired his frustrations towards certain elements of his team's performance.
Leeds continued their inconsistent form away from Elland Road as they were forced to settle for a point at Deepdale, which was only sealed when North End defender Jack Whatmough turned a Dan James cross into his own net in the 93rd minute.
The Whites failed to cash in on their dominance in both possession and goalscoring opportunities for much of the affair, as Patrick Bamford and Brenden Aaronson both spurned inviting chances before James saw his own effort hit the woodwork.
Heading into yesterday's clash, Leeds had the opportunity to potentially reclaim top spot, providing results elsewhere went their way, but they remain in second place and are three points shy of league leaders Sheffield United, who stretched their unbeaten run to 10 games by seeing off Plymouth Argyle in a 2-0 home victory.
EFL Championship top-six standings, as of December 15
Position
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
It does feel like a big opportunity has been missed for Leeds, who will need to return to winning ways when Oxford United travel to West Yorkshire next weekend.
Supporters were rightly unhappy with the display against Preston, who are 16th in the Championship, but Farke has reiterated his side are not a prime Barcelona or Manchester City - although issue has been taken with some elements of the performance.
Daniel Farke's Leeds United verdict following Preston North End draw
According to Farke, Leeds secured a "good point on the road", but he lambasted his side's defending for the hosts' opener and believes they put themselves in a difficult position by going behind and starting too slowly.
Leeds United's Daniel Farke on the touchline
The German boss told the press: "Good point on the road. We're just dancing on the table when we win the game but during a long Championship season there's a game you can't win and you have to make sure you don't lose it.
"We started too slowly. There was one situation we didn't control their counter attack and I was annoyed. You try to push to create chances, we were struggling to create enough,but you have to make sure you control their counter.
"You have to be there with good counter pressing, quick running back and this was not the case.
"I didn't like how we defended the situation, they had one chance and they used it.
"We're not Barca or Man City in their prime and can say we'll win 7-1, it's a difficult game here, a really good side, six unbeaten here. It was always clear it would be a difficult game once behind.
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"We should have scored the equaliser even earlier. We won all statistics and normally should win it but if you don't score you have to keep your nerve and keep pushing.
"We tried so much with substitutions and changing the base formation two times and it paid off with a well deserved equaliser. We're still on a two-point average per game which is important for our mood.
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"We never know once we're beaten. It's good for our confidence and reputation. A valuable and good point. A good ending after a tough week. Nine points would have been perfect but seven points is good."
Leeds United, Daniel Farke need to improve form away from Elland Road
Considering Leeds trailed for much of the contest against a side notoriously difficult to beat, a draw isn't exactly the worst outcome. However, their patchy away form - particularly against perceived weaker sides who will sit behind the ball more often - continues to be a cause for concern in their promotion bid.
Leeds are almost untouchable at Elland Road, but they've won just three of their ten away fixtures this term, which is only the eight-best record in the Championship.
The Whites have taken only one victory on the road in the last five outings, and that was a dramatic 4-3 thriller at Swansea City where their blushes were somewhat spared by a 91st minute winner from Willy Gnonto.
Wilfried Gnonto, Swansea City v Leeds United Goal
Points have been dropped against lower opposition in Preston, Bristol City and Millwall in recent months and that simply must be improved if they're going to remain in the automatic promotion race all season long.