A day that started with a tragic reminder of injustice ended with a tragic result as Leeds United were once again soundly beaten without response. Four consecutive defeats in four matches where Leeds United have failed to find the back of the net mean Leeds United now occupy a play-off spot after a start to the season that looked like we’d be going up as champions.

Friday had gone well for the Whites with Norwich being comfortably beaten and Millwall only managing a draw at home to Brentford. Saturday didn’t start off too badly either with Manchester United getting the biggest cheer of the day when they lost at home to Chelsea. Not often you see Chelsea goals being cheered in the Old Peacock but there is an exception to every rule.

Chris & Kev. Never forgotten!

Around Elland Road there were numerous people collecting in honour of Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight for the childrens cancer charity, Candlelighters. Billy Bremner’s statue was surrounded by wreaths and flowers as the 10th anniversary of our fellow supporters brutal murders was marked.

The players arrived on the pitch carrying two wreaths that were laid behind each of the goals and a minutes silence preceeded the kick-off. The sickening thoughts of that night were only made worse by the knowledge that ten years on the families of Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight are still without justice.

The game itself started out brightly for the Whites and the early indications suggested we may well get a result. The players were passing the ball better, getting stuck in, closing down and creating chances. For all their efforts however, the best chances fell to Andy Hughes who missed an absolute sitter infront of the dismayed South Stand and Jermaine Beckford who headed well, only to see his shot saved by the visiting keeper and former Leeds United player, Lucas.

Swindon had very little to cheer about early on as Leeds United dominated proceedings, but just three minutes before the interval with the scores still level, disaster struck. A fortuetous strike from Paynter beet Shane Higgs via the woodwork and sent the visitors into an undeserved half-time lead.

The teams returned for a second half to forget from a Leeds perspective. For all their efforts early on, the Leeds United team were behind and with confidence so notably lacking, the heads dropped and Swindon took control. With just three minutes gone of the second period, Swindon and Paynter doubled their tally and Leeds United never managed to respond.

From there on in, things went from bad to worse. The team fell apart totally and Swindon had it all too easy. Their third and final goal came just ten minutes into the second half with the troublesome Paynter once again involved and Austin hitting home to secure the three points.

It was hard to believe the same Leeds United team had returned after the interval as the differences in performances were glaringly obvious. A few players did well and earnt their wages, most notably Howson who was getting increasingly frustrated at the fickle nature of the Whites side, but the majority of players heads dropped after the first goal and remained facing downwards until the end of the game.

As the Swindon fans partied and taunted the Leeds United faithful with chants of “top of the league and you f**ked it up” and “6-0 on aggregate” the Leeds United fans vacated Elland Road wondering just how we’d managed to lose the game by such a margin. By the time Swindon had netted their first goal, Leeds really should have been infront. Their lead was totally undeserved, but as the saying goes ‘goals change games’ and never has there been a more fitting testimony to that old cliché.

The result was a hard pill to swallow after seeing Leeds so dominant in the first half. I can’t help thinking that had Andrew Hughes not fluffed his sitter of an opportunity, or had Jermaine Beckford or Jonny Howson been a little more lucky with their attempts, Leeds United would have won this encounter, but after all the hard work, one goal was enough to totally destroy the lads confidence and leave us looking like a local pub team once more.

Yeovil tomorrow in the early kick-off where there will undoubtedly be changes to the starting XI with the game coming just 45 hours after our previous one. If Leeds are to stand any chance of getting out of the rut we’re currently in and making a play for the automatic position, then they have to get back to winning ways sharpish.