Inside Elland Road: Can Leeds Utd fans hold their nerve?
The Leeds United captain gave his verdict on another disappointing defeat at the City Ground.
Leeds United captain Ethan Ampadu believes his side were punished by Nottingham Forest for not being switched on in ‘just a couple of moments’.
The Whites lost 3-1 at the City Ground on Sunday to go into the November international break just one point above Burnley and West Ham, the latter of which is in the relegation zone. Lukas Nmecha’s clinical finish gave the away side an early lead but it was quickly forfeited when Ibrahim Sangare fired level two minutes later.
Forest went ahead on 68 minutes when Morgan Gibbs-White ghosted into the box and headed home from six yards completely unmarked, with Elliot Anderson making it three from the penalty spot after a clumsy Jack Harrison foul on Omari Hutchinson. Leeds had more possession but registered just three shots on target and an Expected Goals of 0.69.
“You have got to try and be solid and we are disappointed with the goal,” Ampadu told LUTV of Sangare’s effort. “It is tough and then you give them another boost and the heads swing, you go from being on such a high.
“We work every day to be so solid and together and organised, compact. There were a couple of moments where it wasn’t, so we could have stopped things prior to moments before they scored.
“We go into every game wanting to win the game. Just a couple of moments where we can be better as a whole group. We can show how solid we are. And as I said just before this, that five minutes, ten minutes after you just scored, you know, when the emotions are high, you have got to try and get that foot in the game again.”
Back-to-back away defeats has left Leeds dangerously close to the bottom three, with Forest, West Ham and Burnley picking up wins in recent weeks to close the gap. Wolves remain adrift on two points but the other two spots in that relegation zone feel very much undecided.
Daniel Farke verdict on Leeds United defeat and form
Leeds have now lost five of their six away games this season and while attacking issues were to be expected given the gaps in recruitment, defensive openness is concerning. After full-time, Farke and his squad were met with mixed emotions when going over to thank the City Ground away end for their support.
"It's quite normal that the fanbase of Leeds United is emotional," Farke said on the frustration. "Everyone was doubting after each loss last season and we finished with 100 points. Everyone has the right to be a bit critical, we've conceded three goals in the last two away games.
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“We could have made our life more easy with some points, that's for sure. We have to return back to our best behaviour in terms of defending like the start of the season when we were really good. I didn't expect before the season started and with how the transfer window turned out that it would be an easy smooth ride this season, never in danger.
“We have 11 games, 11 points, the points average we need to stay in this league, we've never been in the relegation zone. Could have been better but if I'm honest, in my dream version we cruise easily and right now it's all a bit tighter but it's nothing making us panic. The outside world, we can't influence it much. We're quite calm.
“We had a difficult run of games with three away games in the last four games. We know we're a bit more likely to win our home games. We want to win points in away games and have to return back to more defensive stability, more than we've shown in the last two games."
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