Leeds United defeat is disappointing but Portsmouth positive emerges for Daniel Farke from Fratton Park

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Leeds United’s 17-game unbeaten run ended with defeat at Portsmouth after they fell to their first league defeat since November with a 1-0 loss on Sunday.

It means their lead over the sides behind them in the Championship has almost completely dissipated after drawing to West Brom and losing to Pompey at Fratton Park.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LeedsLeeds	36	22	10	4	72	23	49	76
2	Sheff UtdSheffield Utd	36	24	6	6	51	27	24	76
3	BurnleyBurnley	36	20	14	2	49	10	39	74
4	SunderlandSunderland	36	19	11	6	54	33	21	68
5	CoventryCoventry	36	16	8	12	52	46	6	56
6	West BromWest Brom	36	13	16	7	46	32	14	55

Leeds knew that they could travel South with their lead over third place cut down to just two points, and Sheffield United were capable of moving level on points as well. That ended up being the case with wins for Burnley and the Blades, putting pressure on Leeds to do the job away at Portsmouth.

Colby Bishop’s dinked finish over Illan Meslier just after the hour-mark was enough to settle the game, although Leeds missed some big chances of their own. Daniel Farke’s side remain top of the Championship table, but with a missed opportunity to make further ground on Sunday afternoon.

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Daniel Farke can take small comfort from Leeds defeat to Portsmouth

Experts even predicted a potential ‘slip up’ for Leeds this weekend, and they were proven right in a difficult weekend for Leeds in the Championship.

Leeds had a penalty appeal early on that was waved away by referee Robert Jones following Matt Ritchie trying to clear the ball and sending Dan James into the turf as a result. However, Pompey’s Nicolas Schmid also made a number of crucial saves to deny the visitors.

That included a terrific double save to deny Manor Solomon and then Joel Piroe from close range. Piroe missed a further good chance on the break, which Leeds were punished for when Fratton Park erupted as Bishop flexed his muscles in celebration of his sixth of the season.

Leeds know promotion remains in their hands, but Farke will have been well aware of the threat of Pompey, especially at home. John Mousinho’s side are now ninth in the league for home points, having taken the highest proportion (32/42) of their overall points total in the league.

Indeed, since November 1st, Portsmouth have played 12 games at Fratton Park, winning nine and losing just once. They’ve conceded just seven goals in that time, too.

Not only will their sensational recent record provide comfort for Leeds, but the number of chances they had at 0-0 and 1-0 also will. They looked set to equalise just minutes later after Junior Firpo was played through, but he was denied by another fine close-range save from MOTM Schmid.

Firpo struck the bar from a header just moments after as Leeds mounted a late charge but Schmid perhaps saved his best until last with a flying stop from Sam Byram’s header deep into stoppage time.

After the draw to West Brom, defeat at Fratton Park, and news of Angus Kinnear plotting Elland Road changes this summer, it has been one of the most frustrating weeks for those involved with the Whites.

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Daniel Farke and Leeds’ home form will be key to promotion

Pascal Struijk has called for more Leeds control in the final 10 games of the campaign, but that is particularly key for Leeds in home games after far more inconsistency on their travels this season.

The Whites have the best home record in the Championship and have favourable fixtures in the run-in at home to come. Farke’s side have won 14 of their 18 games at Elland Road, securing four more points than any other team in the process.

Leeds still have plenty of cause for optimism despite the latest setback, but they will need to ensure this two-game blip ends against Millwall in midweek. According to Opta, they still have an 89.74% chance of a top two finish.

Now, they need to make good on that advantage and get over the line in this promotion race to put the disappointment of last season behind them.