John Smith's PNE fans' panel view: Leeds United proved the tough test anticipated

Although I disagreed with some of the raucous home fans who proclaimed that their team were also the ‘Champions of Europe’, they proved to be the formidable opponents I had expected.

After watching this game, I thought that – on another day – they could have won at a canter, by more than their single-goal margin.

That they did not do this was down to a combination of some good defending on our part, coupled with some poor finishing on theirs, with also a pinch of good luck thrown into the mix.

To our credit, having managed to stay in the game following some attacking second-half substitutions, we even had some home fans on pins in the game’s closing stages as they nervously awaited the final whistle.

After getting off to the worst possible start by conceding a goal inside the game’s opening five minutes, we managed to stun the jubilant home crowd a couple of minutes later when Kaine Kesler-Hayden cut inside the penalty area and arrowed in a terrific equaliser.

To use the words of Superintendent Ted Hastings, at this point we were ‘sucking on diesel’.

Although our players turned in a workmanlike performance in their ‘Line of Duty’, there was to be no further comeback once the home side restored their one-goal advantage minutes later.

I felt the cross which led to this goal could have been defended better but, in all honesty, I thought we never really looked like pulling back the deficit after this.

The only time this looked like it might be possible was in the opening minutes of the second half, when Ben Whiteman had a shot from the edge of the penalty area well saved by the keeper following a well-worked corner.

The move, which had almost certainly been rehearsed several times on the Euxton training ground, was one of the highlights of the day for the travelling faithful.

In reality, it was one of our only two shots on target throughout the whole game; the other being Kesler-Hayden’s fine goal.

The defeat meant we have won just one of our last 11 league games and, just like Simon and Garfunkel sang, I was also in need of someone to comfort me while I was ‘Homeward Bound’.

On the strength of our recent form, if the season was not as close to its end as it is, we would undoubtedly be in a relegation battle – and still could be if the unthinkable was to happen and we lost our last four matches, while results went in favour of third-bottom Cardiff City.

The warning signs from this must be heeded by the powers that be as, in my opinion, money must be made available for some quality additions to our squad before next season.

While I don’t believe it is all a Victor Meldrew-type of gloom and doom – and that we already have One Foot In The Grave as regards to our Championship status – I think we seem to have become a very ordinary side who, at this moment in time, are not much better than this season’s bottom three.