Leeds boss Daniel Farke felt his side should have been awarded two penalties in their goalless home draw against Sunderland.

United missed the chance to go top of the Sky Bet Championship after being denied a 10th straight home league win after leaders Leicester had slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Millwall.

A first-half cross struck Sunderland defender Dan Ballard on the elbow and a second-half corner hit visiting skipper Luke O’Nien on a raised hand, with both penalty shouts for Leeds turned down by referee Tim Robinson.

Farke said: “We didn’t create enough clear-cut chances. That’s why we didn’t win this game.

“I also have to say, we were pretty unfortunate with several decisions today. It was a clear handball in the first half, should have been a penalty, and a clear handball in the second half, should have been a penalty.

“If there is a rule how there should be a handball, I ask just for the rule.

“I think we’ve had six letters during the season so far apologising for (not being given) a penalty or for red cards – we’ll probably get two more letters now, but it won’t help us.

“They were decisive moments, but credit to Sunderland I think. In the last five games they’ve had four clean sheets.

“I’m annoyed with the (penalty) decisions because they were decisive, but I also like to be self-critical and today we didn’t create enough clear-cut chances.”

Sunderland had won only one of their previous eight league games under interim boss Mike Dodds, but have had clean sheets in four of their last five and proved a tough nut for Leeds to crack.

But Dodds, placed in temporary charge for a second time this season when the Black Cats sacked Michael Beale in February, was in no mood to celebrate his side’s hard-earned point.

Dodds said: “I’m happy for them, but I don’t want to go over the top. I’ve just said to them that we have drawn the game, we haven’t won it.

“There were a lot of positives, but we have drawn the game and I don’t want to be sat here celebrating draws.

“Our out-of-possession stuff was excellent. I didn’t feel at any point that Leeds were going to score or break us down or carve us open.”

Dodds would not be drawn on whether Leeds should have been awarded at least one penalty.

“The reality is that these decisions are swings and roundabouts. It would have been unbelievably cruel on us,” he added.

“I felt all their chances came from our sloppy play and I just said to the group my biggest disappointment was our quality with the ball.

“Our evening would have been a lot more comfortable had we not turned it over far too much.”

Bristol City’s post-match plans were blown off course as their flight home was cancelled in the wake of their goalless draw with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

Having claimed a creditable draw on Wearside thanks mainly to the excellence of their goalkeeper Max O’Leary, who made a string of important saves, City’s players and staff had been due to fly home from Newcastle Airport.

However, high winds resulted in their flight being cancelled, meaning they had to hastily draw up new plans that now involves a 300-mile coach trip back to the south west.

Bristol City boss Liam Manning said: “Our flight home has been cancelled. It’s the wind apparently – it’s bad up here and apparently it’s quite bad in Bristol as well. We found out, as a club, at half-time, but I only found out after the final whistle.

“We’ll have to go by coach now so that’ll add about five hours to the journey home. I guess I’ll spend the time watching the game back. That’s how sad I am. I’ll stick it on the laptop, watch it back, and then use some of that in training next week.”

Manning was pleased with his side’s defensive resilience as they repelled a series of Sunderland attacks to claim a third successive clean sheet, although he admitted he was less satisfied with other aspects of his team’s display.

He said: “The result was more pleasing than the performance. It’s about getting the balance right. In the last two games, the performance and the result were exactly as we would have wanted them. Today, in terms of the performance, we know we can play a lot better.

“I thought there were little mistakes and little things not quite right. We showed a different side to ourselves though. We showed a resilience, a grit and a togetherness. People stepped up, like Max who was outstanding.

“Max made some excellent saves, especially in the first half. He was excellent, but then he has been so often for us. He’s made so many big saves for us.”

Sunderland were thrashed 5-1 by Blackburn on Bank Holiday Monday, so while he was frustrated that his side failed to take all three points, with Adil Aouchiche and Bradley Dack both hitting the crossbar, Mike Dodds was nevertheless delighted with his players’ response to their home humiliation at the start of the week.

Sunderland’s interim head coach said: “I think we had 20 shots on goal. If their goalkeeper isn’t man of the match I’ll be amazed. It was a positive reaction to the previous game, which psychologically is big for the players.

“The last performance was completely unacceptable. I’m disappointed we haven’t won because that should have been three points, and I think their goalkeeper has earned a point for them today.

“I was hoping to see a significant reaction from the players. I thought we got that and it could have been out of sight in the first half. It should have been a lot more comfortable.”

Interim manager Mike Dodds hailed the impact of Jobe Bellingham as a centre-forward after Sunderland beat Cardiff 2-0 to claim their first win since February 10.

Bellingham, the 18-year-old younger brother of England and Real Madrid midfielder Jude, won an early penalty before scoring his seventh goal of the season in all-round mature performance.

“We should be excited about his performance, something we can build on moving forward,” said Dodds, who revealed he has held conversations with Bellingham about his best position after tending to play him in midfield.

“He’s scored a goal and done well in the the game. He’s a coach’s dream, if I said go and play in goal he would just crack on with it.

“What he has got, which many number nines don’t have in this league, is unbelievable quality with his feet – a centre-midfielder playing up front.

“He gave us a platform to play off but you’ve got to remember he’s a second-year scholar playing in the Championship.

“He’s 18 and I know he carries the weight of his brother, which I think sometimes is unfair.

“But if you put that to one side, you’ve just seen a second-year scholar who has been exceptional and should be playing youth-team football.”

Dodds succeeded the sacked Michael Beale on February 19 and Sunderland had lost six and drawn one of their previous seven games to slide down the Sky Bet Championship table.

He said: “I think it was a real professional performance and I’ve tried to stay really balanced in this seat looking at performances.

“I am more happy for the group and the fans because the result makes everything feel a little bit lighter but I’m quite balanced.

“The (first) goal was a huge psychological factor in us just relaxing, after that we were excellent and cut through them really well.”

A second successive defeat – Cardiff had lost 2-0 to Welsh rivals Swansea before the international break – ended the Bluebirds’ slim play-off hopes.

Erol Bulut’s one-year contract expires at the end of the season and the Bluebirds manager conceded that uncertainty over his future could be impacting on performances.

Bulut said: “It can be (affecting players). I don’t have any problems. I respect it from the board if they are not coming with a new offer.

“I’m focusing on my job until the end of the season. Until now we haven’t had any communication about that, so let’s see.”

On a poor performance, Bulut added: “During the international break, the players trained really well so I was expecting a much better game.

“To see that performance, it hurts. I have to be honest, from the 39 games we’ve played this season, this was one of the worst.”

Leicester boss Enzo Maresca has told veteran striker Jamie Vardy he has a key role to play as the Sky Bet Championship leaders edge their way back towards the Premier League.

The 37-year-old scored the only goal in a 1-0 win at Sunderland on Tuesday evening which ended the Foxes’ three-game losing streak in the league and maintained their three-point advantage over second-placed Ipswich.

Asked about the former England international’s contribution, Maresca said: “We know very well that Jamie is so important for us. He has been so important this season and he will be important for the end of the season.

“He has experience, but also he has done in his life and is doing the most important thing in football, that is scoring goals.”

Vardy’s 13th-minute header after Anthony Patterson had saved Wout Faes’ initial effort proved the difference between the sides on a night when the Foxes might have had the game won by half-time, but then needed a fine save from goalkeeper Mads Hermansen after the break to deny Trai Hume a spectacular equaliser.

The home side were aggrieved not to be awarded a penalty for Hamza Choudhury’s stoppage-time challenge on defender Dan Ballard as they mounted a concerted late charge.

Interim Sunderland boss Mike Dodds said: “Dan is adamant it was a penalty. My initial gut is why would he go down?”

Maresca admitted City had not played as well as they had in successive defeats by Middlesbrough, Leeds and QPR, but was delighted with their resilience as the Black Cats rallied.

He said: “At this moment, the most important thing is to win games, and also as a team probably we need to learn to win games in an ugly way like tonight.

“In the second half, we suffered a lot, but in the first half, again we created many chances especially at the beginning. We missed, but fortunately we could score with Jamie and at the end, we won the game.”

Sunderland’s fifth defeat on the trot left them closer to the bottom three than the top six in terms of points, but Dodds was adamant there are reasons to be cheerful.

He said: “They are human. They’ve lost five on the bounce, so they’re not machines, they are aware of that, I’m aware of that. But I do feel that we are one win away from putting a number of wins together.

“Unfortunately the result wasn’t the result we wanted, but I think the performance would show that there is some light at the end of the tunnel.”

Norwich head coach David Wagner singled out Kenny McLean for praise after watching his side continue their Championship play-off bid with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Sunderland at Carrow Road.

Josh Sargent’s late goal earned the Canaries a narrow win and while Wagner was delighted with the American’s display, he felt it was McLean’s contribution that should be highlighted.

He said: “When Kenny woke up on Thursday he was struggling to walk and he was not able to train on Thursday or Friday.

“He had stiffness in the back and full credit to him and our medical staff that he was able to play. He is a top, top professional who does everything he can to be successful, a proper Scottish braveheart!

“Josh also turned in top performance, not just with the goal but the way he linked play and worked hard to close them down.”

Wagner added: “We were up against a good, well-organised team and had to work hard to break them down.

“But I thought it was a deserved win, we created a lot of good chances and also defended really well, restricting them to very few box entries. I was very pleased with the performance and now we have to keep it going.”

The game was settled by an 81st-minute goal from Sargent, who scored for the seventh successive home game and took his tally to 11 in an injury-hit campaign overall.

The USA international shrugged off the attentions of two Sunderland defenders when a Ben Gibson cross came over and when they ball bounced kindly for him swivelled and fired home from close range.

It was a deserved goal for the Canaries who had carved out the better chances.

Visiting substitute Abdoullah Ba hit the woodwork just before the Norwich winner but the hosts were on the front foot for most of the game and goalkeeper Anthony Patterson made a number of good saves to keep them out until nine minutes from time.

The defeat left Sunderland nine points adrift of the top six but interim head coach Mike Dodds isn’t giving up on the play-offs just yet.

He said: “I look back to this time last season when I think we were in a very similar position to where we find ourselves now.

“Then we went on an unbelievable run to take it to the final game of the season and there’s no reason why we can’t do that again.

“I look at the players and I don’t see a group that are giving up on it. They are a group who are really close to turning it around and sooner or later I believe the tide will turn.

“We have now got two matches coming up against two of the best teams in the league and we are really looking forward to it.”

As for the game itself, he added: “Norwich are a really good side, especially at home, and I thought for long spells we nullified their threat, even though we have to do better with their goal.

“Going forward we got into some good positions but we have a lot better quality in the final third than we showed.

“I have got faith in the players but when we got in their area we were a bit tense and erratic.”

Sunderland caretaker Mike Dodds believes Jobe Bellingham can emerge from his superstar brother’s shadow and go “to the very top” himself after the teenager’s late winner ended Leeds’ seven-game unbeaten run.

The 18-year-old headed his fourth career goal in the 78th minute to secure a 1-0 EFL Championship win over the third-placed Whites on the same night his elder sibling and England international Jude was helping Real Madrid to victory over Union Berlin in the Champions League.

Dodds admitted it is “really difficult” for young Bellingham as he strives to make his way in a sport where his 20-year-old brother is regarded as one of the best on the planet, but he believes he has all the attributes to make a name for himself.

“Both brothers have a very similar mindset in terms of their relentless pursuit of where they want to get to,” said Dodds.

“He made a really brave and tough decision to leave Birmingham, the club he supported all his life. Thankfully from my perspective, it looks like he’s made the right decision and I’m sure he would reiterate that.

“But it is tough for him, it is tough for him. And it will only get easier as he gets credit in the bank for himself.

“I think it speaks volumes for Jobe that as an 18-year-old boy in the Championship, he could play as a nine against West Brom on Saturday and then a 10 against Leeds tonight.

“That shows what quality and class he has and just highlights what a fantastic talent he is regardless of the name on the back of his shirt.

“I think he can go to the very top. I’ve worked with a lot of young players and he would be up there with the very best I’ve worked with.”

Dodds was “over the moon” after he made it back-to-back home wins over West Brom and Leeds since taking the reins after the sacking of Tony Mowbray last week. Reims manager Will Still is currently the favourite to take over but Dodds expects to be in charge for Saturday’s trip to Bristol City.

“I’ve not had enough time to process what’s actually happened,” he said. “It’s been a whirlwind since last Tuesday. I knew how much effort I’d have to put in to prepare for these games and I’m tired.

“I’ve got a day off tomorrow and I’m going to spend the day Christmas shopping and trying to switch off. Then Thursday will be business as usual in terms of preparing for Saturday.”

Leeds boss Daniel Farke was loathe to criticise his team after they had won six of their previous seven matches.

“Congratulations to Sunderland for a great defensive effort,” he said.

“In general, I’m struggling to criticise my lads too much. It was a difficult away game and I thought we dominated for many periods but we didn’t find the cutting edge today.

“And credit to Sunderland, they tried to park the bus and they did really well. They gave their life in order to defend everything.”