Elland RoadLeeds ended a four match run of defeats with a 2-1 victory at home last night, but the Whites made hard work of an AFC Bournemouth side reduced to 10 men in the first half.

Dominic Poleon, on as a sub in the 72nd minute, secured all three points for Leeds, but it was a game which should have been put to bed much sooner.

Ross McCormack had already let a good chance go begging before Bournemouth’s keeper was sent off for a foul on Noel Hunt. Determined to end a run without scoring, McCormack stepped forward to take the resulting penalty, only to see his effort saved by Bournemouth’s substitute keeper.

Leeds continued to dominate, creating a series of chances to take the lead. Further chances went begging however, one play in particular most notable for the amount of Leeds players who had a chance to shoot but instead opted to pass to one of their team-mates, as if nobody had the confidence to have a go themselves.

0-0 at half-time and Leeds’ wastefulness made it difficult to see where the goals would come from, but the breakthrough came quickly in the second half when an exceptional cross from Warnock whizzed into the path of Ross McCormack for an easy finish. 1-0, but McCormack will feel he should have had a hattrick by this stage.

As you’d expect with a man advantage, Leeds remained dominant, but with nothing to lose, Bournemouth went in search of an equaliser. West Ham United loanee Collison had a brilliantly struck effort saved by Paddy Kenny, which seemed to give the visitors the confidence to push forward.

With a little over 15 minutes remaining, lazy, statueseque defending from Leeds presented Grabban with an easy close range effort to level the tie and the Bournemouth striker made no mistake. 1-1 and Leeds’ failure to convert chances looked to have cost us.

But Leeds responded through McCormack and Poleon, both seeing chances blocked at the opposite end of the field before Jason Pearce headed into the path of Dominic Poleon who volleyed home with power to give Leeds a hard-fought 3 points.

FT Leeds United 2-1 AFC Bournemouth 

Alex Mowatt’s stock continues to rise following another fine performance and Dominic Poleon has to feel he deserves a place in the starting XI after witnessing another game in which Leeds United’s failure to convert was a running theme.

Save for the hopeless finishing on display, this wasn’t a bad performance from Leeds. The defending which led to Bournemouth’s equaliser was Sunday league stuff, but we were otherwise pretty solid. It wasn’t until the sending off that Leeds really gained an edge and it was worrying to see us let Bournemouth back in after taking the lead, but we’ve seen far worse performances recently.

Ultimately though, goals win games and the Whites continue to waste far too many chances. It’s encouraging to hear the kind of names Brian McDermott has been trying to bring in (Luciano Becchio for example), but we need to start getting some deals done before this season fades into mid-table obscurity.

Dismal run of form behind us and three points on the board. Still a lot of room for improvement though. On and on…