Leeds United boss Daniel Farke's anger at two non-penalty awards and amount of added-on time against Sunderland - and why he was not deflated by draw

On a night when leaders Leicester City lost at Millwall, Leeds - seeking a tenth successive league win in the top-two divisions for the first time ever in the same season - could not find a way past a well-organised Sunderland side.

The Wearsiders became the first side to prevent Leeds from scoring in the league at home since September 2.

Farke admitted that his side struggled in the creative department, but was more critical of the failure of Tim Robinson to point to the spot for two perceived handball offences in each half.

The second call, in the final quarter when Sunderland captain Luke O’Nien clearly handled the ball under pressure from Joe Rodon, was certainly a huge moment which went unpunished.

Farke, whose second-placed side are ahead of Ipswich Town on goal difference - the Suffolk side host Watford on Wednesday - and one adrift of Leicester, having played a game more than the pair, said: “We were pretty unfortunate with several decisions today because there was a clear handball in the first half which should have been a penalty and one in the second half, which should have been a penalty.

"Also, whatever the added times have been in the last six years, I don’t think there was one Championship game where there was just three minutes added time. It felt a bit harsh after 10 substitutions and lots of time-wasting and discussions.

"I don’t know if we’d have scored with two or three minutes more because we were struggling when we normally create clear-cut chances, but I also got the feeling we were pretty unfortunate with several situations with the decision-making on the pitch.

"But we have to self-critical as well and we didn’t test the keeper enough and there were not enough shots on goal and we were not concentrated in the finishes. We played the pass one moment too early or one yard too long or a little bit too slow.

"But if I am honest, it was the only thing I could criticise (from us) tonight.”

On missing out on the chance to move top, Farke, whose side host Blackburn Rovers on Saturday lunch-time, commented: “After being there with just a draw, the overall feeling is that, yes we are a bit frustrated and disappointed because it is just a point and we had the chance to make a major step in the table and our point tally.

"If I am honest, I was pleased with several things in the game in comparison to Coventry. We returned back to control and dominated the game completely. We turned back to really good defensive behaviour.

"It was crucial to being back to being there with a clean sheet. We did not lose our nerves and put lots of pressure on them. We created so many set-pieces again, 13 or 14 corner kicks and it is a bit annoying when at the beginning of the season, we scored many goals out of set-pieces.”

Offering his take on the performance of Sunderland, who have won just once in 11 matches but produced a tactically strong showing at Elland Road to stymie the hosts, interim head coach Mike Dodds said: “I’m happy with that. I don’t want to go over top, but I take positives from the game.

"But we have drawn again and don’t want to be happy with draws. But our out of possession stuff was excellent and they struggled to break us down.

"I was happy with the execution of the plan to stop their threat. I still think they are the best side in the league.”