Leeds United captain Liam Cooper and Patrick Bamford have highlighted the stop-start nature of the match during the 0-0 draw against Aston Villa at Elland Road this afternoon.
Referee Stuart Attwell gave 35 fouls between the two sides during the match, with 23 going against the Whites in a scrappy affair that led to five yellow cards and a red.
Leeds winger Luis Sinisterra was shown his second yellow after blocking a Villa quick free kick attempt just three minutes after halftime, much to the anger of the home fans.
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Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Bamford made it clear how much effort the players had to put in just to get a point after Sinisterra's dismissal.
"Extremely hard, I think the circumstances made it a little bit more difficult but the boys that were on the pitch for the whole game were outstanding and deserved a point at least."
Cooper then gave his thoughts, highlighting Attwell's willingness to brandish his cards so quickly in what was a high-intensity game.
"Exactly the same - I think the sending off changes the game and when the referee gives a booking so early in a game, it really sets the standard for what is a yellow card during the game.
"It was stop-and-start, you couldn't really get the ball going, but I've always said if you can't get the three points, especially if you go down to 10 men, then it's just about managing the game and not get beaten.
"We managed to do that today and the boys should be proud for putting in a good shift."
Bamford then spoke about Villa's possible game plan that focused on them slowing the match down to starve Leeds of their preferred intense playstyle.
"Obviously Villa had a game plan and part of that was slowing down our momentum because they know we like to play intense football but then the tables turned and we had to do a little bit of that ourselves."
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