Head coach Neil Redfearn bemoaned his side’s defensive display after squandering a two-goal lead in the 3-2 defeat to Watford.

United had gotten off to a dream start at Elland Road, with Billy Sharp opening the scoring from close-range after just six minutes, before Rodolph Austin added a spectacular second with a 30-yard lob over goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes and into the top corner during a bright first 20 minutes from Redfearn’s men.

But Watford hit back through Troy Deeney and ended the first half strongly before going on complete the comeback after the break as Matej Vydra struck twice on the counter-attack.

United did have chances to extend the slender 2-1 lead shortly after half-time, but Austin was denied by a Gomes block after racing through on goal before his rebound was cleared off the line.

"If we’d made it 3-1, then I think it would have become a different game again," said Redfearn.

"They’re a good side but you can’t gift good sides opportunities and I don’t think we defended well today.

"We started the game really, really well. We set the gameplan out to press and put them under pressure.

"We sucked them into a scrap and played our football off the back of it and got our goals.

"Then, for some reason, the back four sort of took a step back and what happens then is you put yourselves under pressure.

"If you give good sides space to play in midfield, particularly because they play the diamond in there, then you end up being given the run around a little bit.

"We changed it around with the personnel that were out there to begin with and then we changed it around again, but the game was going away from us.

"The goals from our point of view were too easy. For the first goal, Deeney got through and it was too easy for him."

Redfearn also felt the defending was uncharacteristic of his side’s recent form, having kept the back door shut against Millwall, Reading and Middlesbrough prior to the midweek defeat at Brighton.

"It’s been a big feature of what we’ve been doing – we defended really well at Middlesbrough and have kept clean sheets," he said.

"We’ve done that bit really well but we looked uncharacteristically unsure in the middle at the back today.

"We started well with it, but as the game wore on, we looked nervy at the back."