Leeds United fans turn on board and sporting director Victor Orta after latest failing at Everton

While recent performances have been better than results and bad luck had played in the Whites' slide down the table rudderless Leeds were never at it at Goodison Park.

Out fought and outplayed, they were second best this time against a club whose change of manager is working so far.

It certainly is not at Leeds with no permanent appointment made and just one point from three games since Jesse Marsch was dismissed.

The Michael Skubala experiment has not worked and if he is left in certaker charge for another even bigger game at home to Southampton next Saturday – as seems to be the plan – there can be little confidence in a sudden turn round of fortunes.

And yet another defeat would leave United bottom of the Premier League and possibly two points adrift.

So it little wonder travelling fans were looking for a scapegoat for the mess their team finds themselves in – and that is clearly sporting director Victor Orta whose job it has been to secure a new head coach.

Chants of "sack the board" and "'Orta, time to go" rang round the Everton ground and will only get louder at Elland Road next weekend if anything goes wrong in the next game.

Caretaker boss Skubala still thinks Leeds can avoid the drop, saying: "We have good players in the club.

"We have good midfielders, good defenders, good strikers. We have good players. We've just got to get it right and keep pushing and keep moving forward.

"I'm full of confidence we can get out of it.”

That confidence will not be shared by many on the latest evidence with Leeds needing something like six or seven wins from their last 15 matches to stop up when they have only managed four from their first 23.

Seamus Coleman's second half strike secured Everton all three points with young goalkeeper Illan Meslier questioned for his part in the goal, as he had been with several conceded recently.

Leeds started brightly enough as they won early corners that predictably came to nothing.

But it was the home team with the first effort, with Amadou Onana hitting a shot wide from outside the area.

It was a typical bottom of the table game with plenty of effort, but a lack of quality, although Onana hit another shot over after being left unmarked on the edge of the box and Patrick Bamford sent a shot wide from 20 yards out as he continued his record of never scoring against Everton in the Premier.

Jack Harrison saw a long range strike saved by Jordan Pickford before Everton came closest to a goal in the opening half as Conor Coady's header was cleared off the line by Max Wober then when the ball was played back in Neal Maupay's effort was cleared off the line by Weston McKennie.

The more physical Everton side threatened again from another corner, but James Tarkowski saw his header well saved by Meslier.

Crysencio Summerville sent a head over in first half injury-time, but the teams went in goalless at the break.

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Leeds were forced into a change for the start of the second half with Skubala opting for a big reshuffle with left side defender Wober going off because of a shoulder injury and Rasmus Kristensen coming on to play right-back, with Ayling moving to a central role. Liam Cooper was on the bench and would have made a more obvious substitute, but it was explained after that he was not considered fit enough to play "many minutes".

The hosts had the first chance of the second half with Dwight McNeil sending a volley wide.

United responded as Jack Harrison's low cross set up Bamford, but the centre-forward failed to connect with the ball and the chance went begging.

Meslier made saves to deny Maupay and Vitalii Mykolenko, but was then finally beaten when caught out of position for Coleman's goal.

Expecting a cross from the right-back, he left his near post unguarded and the ball sailed past him from what had looked an impossible angle to score from.

Although Leeds responded by throwing men forward they rarely looked like equalising and did not manage a single effort on target.

Everton could have increased their winning margin, but Tarkowski headed off target from another corner and Abdoulaye Doucoure was clean through only to make a mess of the opportunity.

Everton 1

(Coleman 64)

Leeds United 0

Saturday, February 18, 2023

Premier League

Attendance: 39,232

Everton: Pickford; Coleman, Tarkowski, Coady, Mykolenko; Onana (Davies 74), Doucoure, Gueye, Iwobi, McNeil; Maupay (Simms 81).

Leeds: Meslier; Ayling, Koch, Wober (Kristensen 45), Firpo; Adams, McKennie (Rutter 78), Harrison, Summerville (Aaronson 61), Gnonto; Bamford.

Referee: Andrew Madley.