Let’s get one thing out of the way right at the top, there’s simply no argument for Leeds deserving to take a point from this game. That we didn’t record another defeat on the road had everything to do with poor decision making from the linesman and nothing to do with Leeds’ performance.

That’s not to say Leeds didn’t have their moments, but while we continue to show glimpses of good play on the attack, we’re so catastrophically poor in defence that an away trip to a very good Forest side should only end in defeat.

Instead Matt Fryatt’s 45th minute opener was cancelled out by Billy Sharp after Sam Byram’s excellent run through the opposition box won Leeds a penalty.

Forest can have no complaints about the penalty decision, but Matt Fryatt saw two additional goals wrongly ruled out for offside, costing the home side all 3 points.

Though it’ll be scant consolation to Nottingham Forest fans, it’s probably true that these things level out over the course of the season. Leeds have also suffered from poor refereeing decisions this season, most notably at Blackburn where a blatant dive from Luke Varney won them the game. A lucky point here doesn’t make the refereeing howlers we’ve been victim to elsewhere any less frustrating, but it’s somewhat comforting to know we’re not alone.

Balancing out though our luck may be, from a Leeds point of view, that doesn’t make this performance any less troubling. We can’t head to places like Forest, play like we have been and expect to record satisfying results. It’s fine to take a risk and setup in an attacking manner at home, but on the road, you have to keep it tight and make things difficult for the opposition, especially when the opposition is a side like Forest who will – and at times did – run us ragged given too much space to operate in.

Looking at the side we lined up with, the first thing you notice is how lightweight we are. We lack a powerful, combative presence, particularly in midfield where Adryan and Mowatt are one luxury too many for an away trip in this division. They’re both playing well and it’ll be a tough call for Redfearn to make, but we need to be starting with a more defensively minded player in place of one – if not both – of them on our travels.

I know it won’t be a popular view, but away from home I’d be dropping Adryan to the bench and using him for the last 30 minutes as an impact sub, the same as we did with Max Gradel in his early days at the club.

Our lightweight midfield can’t take all the blame though, the central defensive partnership of Pearce and Cooper just isn’t good enough, nor will it ever be. They’re just too similar. This is understandably an area Redfearn wants to focus on in January and I suspect he’ll be hoping for a more physically imposing player with better command of the air to play alongside one of them.

In the meantime, Leeds can consider an undeserved point at Forest an early gift from Santa, but we must use the time between now and our next away trip (Derby on the 30th) to work on a different approach.

Happy Christmas everyone. On and on…