Leeds boss Daniel Farke admitted he made a mistake by not selecting Ilia Gruev at QPR, where the Sky Bet Championship leaders came from back two down to secure a 2-2 draw.
Farke considered starting with the defensive midfielder but instead opted for a more attacking approach.
It backfired as goals from Koki Saito and Steve Cook put Rangers, who had lost their previous four matches, into a surprise lead.
Morgan Fox’s own goal gave the visitors a much-needed boost before the interval and Jayden Bogle equalised soon after the restart.
QPR ended the match with 10 men after Saito was sent off in stoppage time for a studs-up challenge on Dan James.
Farke said: “I’m a bit unhappy with myself because I thought, until the early hours in the morning, to bring Ilia Gruev in.
“Whenever I’ve brought him in in our away games our defensive awareness and sharpness is always a bit more on-it.
“I was thinking about Ilia quite a lot because he gives us this defensive awareness. But I was a bit too greedy and wanted to dominate the game.
“This was the problem in the first 25 or 30 minutes. The goals were too cheap. And then when you’re 2-0 down you don’t need to bring on more defensive awareness, you need to take some risks.
“Although I was tempted to bring Ilia in, I didn’t do this.”
Farke did, however, make an excellent judgement call when he made a half-time substitution, bringing on Willy Gnonto in place of Brenden Aaronson, who gave the ball away in the build-up to QPR’s first goal.
Gnonto, usually a winger, was deployed in a central position and had a big impact, helping to set up the equaliser.
“I was convinced he would make an impact,” said Farke.
“If I’m really honest and tell you a secret, I was also thinking about him in this (central) position from the beginning.
“If I had brought Ilia in, I think I would have opted also to play Willy from the start. But I opted for two number 10s and thought we couldn’t afford to lose the running and relentless work of Brenden Aaronson.
“I wouldn’t have signed for a draw before the game, because we always play to win, but of course during this period of the season, when you’re playing your third game in six days and you’re 2-0 down on the road, then to go away with one point, it’s important.
“I don’t want to be too greedy. We wanted to win but, after the story of this game, it’s a good point on the road. We take it and it brings us one point closer to where we want to finish.”
QPR boss Marti Cifuentes was proud of his team’s efforts but acknowledged that conceding a goal before half-time was a big blow.
“In the last couple of performances we lacked a bit of urgency but today we showed that from the very beginning,” Cifuentes said.
“I’m very proud of the way we started the game against a fantastic side – in my opinion the best team in the league.
“To be 2-0 up, it was a pity to concede with perhaps the only chance they had in the first half, because we knew that to go to half-time with the advantage of two goals could be a game changer.
“But when you play against quality teams they don’t need much to score goals. That was the reality. We knew it was very important to keep that lead.
“I cannot be happy after leading 2-0 and then conceding two goals and it’s just a draw, but I’m still proud of the guys.
“I’m unhappy with the result but proud to compete against such a good side. It was not easy to contain them in the second half.”
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