Sutton humiliation may not be the worst result for Leeds

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Leeds United fell out of the FA Cup at the hands of non-league side Sutton United.

Based on the performance and the result, Leeds United fans would be forgiven for thinking that there are no positives that can be taken from their humiliating FA Cup defeat to Sutton United on Sunday. But was it really the worst result to come away with?

Yes, the embarrassment is certainly something that Leeds could have done without, especially as time had started to erase the painful memories of the infamous defeat to non-league Histon in the same competition in 2008.

Sutton United’s Jamie Collins celebrates scoring the winning goal with team mates

However, come May, there is no reason why this result cannot be looked back upon as a more positive outcome than had the game ended in a draw.

A late equaliser would have seen the two sides meet again at Elland Road in the near future for a place in the fifth round. And while the Whites’ league form is strong enough to suggest that another game would not have that great an impact just yet, it may have proved costly later on in the campaign, especially if they face a further three games following the regular season after finishing in the play-off places and subsequently managing to reach the final.

The defeat to Sutton arguably raised a serious question regarding the amount of depth within the Leeds squad, so it may prove beneficial to have fewer games and simply one focus between now and the end of the season.

Sutton manager Paul Doswell greets Leeds’ manager Garry Monk

Additionally, the result may also boost Garry Monk’s hopes of landing the targets he wants before the end of the January window as the club’s hierarchy may feel that it is a gamble to let the deadline pass without strengthening if they hope to go up.

So while Leeds supporters will rightly want to forget the Sutton result and the hugely disappointing performance that went with it, it could certainly be argued that there could ultimately be an upside to come from a dark afternoon for the Championship side.