O'Leary laments Leeds' leniency

Leeds celebrate their third goal againt Troyes

Leeds manager David O'Leary was frustrated that his side had not extinguished the hopes of Troyes in the first leg of their Uefa Cup second round tie.

Leeds won the game 4-2 but had plenty of chances to put the tie beyond their French opponents, especially when Troyes had a man sent off after 49 minutes.

"I was really impressed with us up until we scored the fourth," said O'Leary.

"But when they went down to 10 men we stopped playing.

"We came in at half-time and we had created so many clear-cut chances but I felt we should have had more than the three goals.

I'm hopeful we will still go through - although you know what football is like

David O'Leary

"In the second half we then made a great start, but after that we let up and their coach I'm sure will be delighted because they really should be finished.

"I don't think this is a kick up the proverbial for us, but I also feel when you have teams by the throat that you have to finish them off and we had a great chance to do that tonight.

"They then played better with 10 men which is what sometimes happens and it was mistakes which then led to them scoring their second goal."

Troyes coach Alain Perrin believes their second goal could be crucial although he admitted they had a tough job to overhaul Leeds' advantage.

"It will be very difficult in the return leg," he said. "I think Leeds can win in Troyes.

But he added: "Our second goal could be important.

"That's given us a little bit of hope for the second leg, particularly as we showed a lot of fight when we played with 10 men - maybe I should play with 10 in Troyes!"