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Daniel Farke had heard the gales of impatience swirling around him but, through it all, he managed to stay impressively calm.
‘I suppose in the past, I would have been nervous and kicking bottles onto the pitch,’ said the Leeds manager after his side hit an unexpected bump in the road.
‘But I am fine. Obviously I am not happy that we did not win but we are one point closer. Who knows how important this draw will be?’
After nine straight home victories, Elland Road was packed to the rafters for Sunderland’s visit and the anticipation amongst the crowd of 36,793 was that Mike Dodds’ side would be swept away like many before them. Dodds even went as far as calling Leeds the best team in the Championship.
But this was an evening when they did not live up to that exalted billing, thanks mainly to the fact Dodds had Sunderland supremely well organised.
Leeds missed out on the chance to claim top spot but their point moves them up into second
Patrick Bamford cuts a dejected figure after missing a chance in the first half at Elland Road
Leeds could have played until their next game against Blackburn here on Saturday and they still wouldn’t have scored.
Stadiums don’t come more inspirational than Elland Road under the lights but, equally, stadiums don’t come with more demands than when a Leeds crowd is impatient and it was clear early on that Farke’s team were going to walk a fine line.
Had their early pressure paid off, this old place would have been shaking but, instead, all the short, sharp passes Leeds wanted to play ended up being blocked off by Sunderland’s hard-working and well-organised ensemble.
‘I don’t want to celebrate drawing here,’ Dodds, whose team have now kept four clean sheets in five games. ‘I want to be winning. But I was very satisfied with what we did off the ball. The shape of the team stopped their threat.’
It certainly did. Leeds huffed and puffed but it was actually Sunderland with the best chances in the opening 45 minutes, both of which fell to the industrious Jack Clarke but, on each occasion, he shot straight at goalkeeper Ilan Meslier.
Sunderland winger Jack Clarke has a shot at goal but it is saved by Leeds keeper Illan Meslier
Jobe Bellingham attacks the Leeds goal in one of the rare attacks Sunderland had first half
Leeds striker Bamford (left) goes down under the challenge of Sunderland’s Daniel Ballard
Georginio Rutter tries his luck at goal but his shot is saved inside the Sunderland box
After the break Leeds camped in their opponent’s half but there was more huffing and puffing until the 76th minute when they thought there was a clear shout for a penalty when Sunderland but referee Tim Robinson could see no fault in skipper Luke O’Nien’s actions.
‘It would have been unbelievably cruel if we had lost that way,’ Dodds offered.
He was right – and Farke, whose side sneaked back into the automatic promotion places, wasn’t grumbling.
‘We had a chance to make a major step but that is football,’ he said. ‘Let’s see what this result means.’
