Ref no help but Leeds United fate lies elsewhere – Graham Smyth’s Verdict on Aston Villa bore draw

Even at the end of a barely tolerable 29-day wait, this game was no sight for sore eyes and its 0-0 scoreline felt entirely fitting.

No game is ever completely forgettable, something always stands out, yet none of this game's remarkable features were remotely redeeming.

For a Leeds side who played 46 minutes with 10 men it was a fine result.

Aston Villa are exactly the type of club with whom the Whites are competing for mid-table comfort, at best, and Premier League survival, at worst.

Beating them felt important, as the game kicked off, but holding them to a stalemate took on a much more satisfactory and appealing look when Luis Sinisterra made his early exit having fallen foul of referee Stuart Attwell.

A match official has done his job when his own performance is easy to forget, and no-one can say that Sinisterra did not - in the eyes of the law - deserve his second yellow card, but Steven Gerrard's straight-faced insistence that the referee had a good game ignored a litany of inconsistencies.

Leon Bailey blasted the ball away ahead of a Leeds free-kick and received no yellow. A glut of players performed trips akin to one that resulted in Sinisterra's first yellow, without receiving a card.