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26th December 2011 – Derby County 1 Leeds United 0
Three years after taking charge of Leeds for the first time, defeat at Pride Park saw serious questions being asked about the managerial reign of Simon Grayson. A spineless performance saw United lose out to a goal from Jamie Ward midway through the 2nd half. Grayson baffled most observers after the game by saying that Leeds had played quite well, but it was clear he was trading on thin ice. A humiliating defeat at Barnsley a couple of days later should have been the time for him to go, but Ken being Ken, the chairman kept him on long enough for the transfer window to close, before sacking him at the end of January.
12th April 2011 – Derby County 2 Leeds United 1
Leeds travelled to Derby for this midweek fixture looking to stay in the hunt for promotion. Although they remained in the playoff spots following this defeat, it was the start of a crushing run of losses on the road which scuppered any hopes of a return to the top flight.
It could have all been so different as Leeds, without pulling up any trees, looked comfortable in the opening period. The travelling fans had an enjoyable half time, venting their spleen at Seth Johnson, who Derby had wisely introduced as a guest at the interval. Leeds came out and took the lead just before the hour through Max Gradel, the Ivorian firing home from the edge of the area. However United froze in the glare of the promotion spotlight, and were behind within five minutes. Jamie Ward equalised for the rams, turning in a Steven Pearson cross and then two minutes later Steven Davies volleyed home from a corner. With a Leeds midfield of Barry Bannan and Jake Livermore being "bossed" (his own words) by Robbie Savage, United failed to find a foothold back into the game, with Savage further infuriating the fans (and me in particular, as I completely lost my head that night) with his antics on the pitch and via Twitter afterwards.
11th November 2008 – Derby County 2 Leeds United 1 (League Cup 4th Round)
Leeds travelled to Derby with a chance of making the quarter finals of the League Cup on the line. The home side had been in the Premier League just six months earlier, while Leeds were in the second season of their League One sojourn. The class between the two sides was apparent in the early stages as Emmanuel Villa, set up by Paul Connolly, and Nathan Ellington put the Rams 2-0 up inside 20 minutes. From that moment onwards though it was Gary McAllister’s side that took control of the game and were unlucky to bow out at the end of the tie. Luciano Becchio pulled one back before half time, and despite, in Derby boss Paul Jewell’s words, being "played off the park" the Rams hung on to progress.
6th May 2007 – Derby County 2 Leeds United 0
Leeds had started their life in the Championship after relegation from the Premiership at home to Derby and they ended a three year stay against the same side. However it was not a glorious promotion that was celebrated at Pride Park, but an embarrassing relegation to the third tier for the first time in the clubs history.
With ten points having been deducted for entering administration earlier in the week, Leeds were destined to finish bottom of the table and this 2-0 defeat merely rubber stamped the humiliation. It was the last sighting (thank god) of many of the team but it did see the introduction of Fabian Delph to the Leeds supporters, a brief cameo in the second half giving the fans a glimpse of what was to come.
Goals at the end of each half saw Leeds go down with a whimper, although Robert Bayly was determined to make an impression, the young Irish man earning a straight red card in his only ever league appearance.
11th February 2006 – Derby County 0 Leeds United 0
When the highlight of this five game stretch is an instantly forgettable 0-0 draw, you know success has been pretty thin on the ground. This point kept Leeds in the hunt for automatic promotion and saw Derby slip into the bottom three. Both sides would still be in the same division the following season, Derby staying up and Leeds missing out in the play-off final in Cardiff.