Paul Heckingbottom has been praising Leeds United’s performance in their draw with Bristol City on Sunday, with the Elland Road head-coach admitting he felt his side were unlucky not to claim all three points.

Early goals from Famara Diedhiou and Bobby Reid put Bristol into a 2-0 lead early on, but a late comeback at Elland Road saw Leeds snatch a 2-2 draw, with Pierre-Michel Lasogga and Kemar Roofe on the scoresheet.

Lasogga almost snatched a victory at the end, but was denied by the crossbar with the final kick of the game.

Reflecting on that draw, Heckingbottom appeared upbeat on the performance of his side, he told Leeds’ official Twitter account: “We started the game the better team, how we wanted.

“The first two efforts from long-throws, we go 2-0 down to an away team that were set-up to perform really well away from home.

“So taking all that into account, and the more I’ve watched it back and gone through those details, the boys did fantastically well to come back and get a draw, and unlucky in the end not to get the win.”

Heckingbottom is currently preparing his side for another Sky Bet Championship fixture tonight, with Leeds travelling to the Pride Park Stadium to take on Derby County.

The Whites enter the contest this evening in 12th, with Heckingbottom’s side still eight points adrift of the play-off places with 14 fixtures of the season remaining.

Heckingbottom’s side enter tonight’s fixture with some positive news behind them, despite a lengthy winless streak, with Samuel Saiz, Liam Cooper and Gaetano Berardi all in contention, having returned from their respective suspensions.

The Verdict

Heckingbottom is beaming with pride at the spirit his side showed to fight back against Bristol City at the weekend, and showing that same level tonight at Derby will be key to a positive result.

The pressure is off Leeds at the minute, with their play-off hopes fading fast, however, Heckingbottom will want to pick up his first victory as head-coach tonight at Derby.

Three points tonight would be a major coup for the Whites.

Leeds fans… Let us know your thoughts!