On the George Graham path to fulfilment, there have been many excruciating days, and there will no doubt be many more to come. This was a largely unappealing contest between a Leeds side of limited means and an Aston Villa side of sparse ambition. It was hard to determine which was the most unappealing.

Leeds are making colourless progress, of that there is no doubt. They have already scored more goals than they did throughout the whole of last season, and one more yesterday at least maintained a top-six Premiership position that few had imagined possible at the start of the season.

Lee Bowyer had suffered an undistinguished afternoon, afflicted by a carelessness that is entirely at odds with a Leeds side who pride themselves in doing the simple things well, but it was his chip from a central position that allowed Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to leap powerfully and head in his eighth goal of the season 11 minutes from time.

That should have been enough to subdue an Aston Villa side who had combined sturdy defence in numbers with a cynical time wasting that began so early in the match it beggared belief, but it was not a day for simple conclusions. An indigestible match demanded an equaliser, and received it six minutes from time when Savo Milosevic tanked in at the far post to head Staunton's deep cross past Nigel Martyn.

"The referee has the power to stop the game and tell both captains that he will book players for time wasting. They have to do more than hold up their watch and say they're adding time on. It was so obvious that the crowd weren't booing by the end, they were just laughing."

True enough, although for Graham to talk about it "detracting from the entertainment value" was a bit rich. Elland Road wore its disgruntlement supportively, if restively, valuing the honesty of Graham's Leeds, but not daring to think in terms of entertainment. They are not trudging here for fun. Not just yet anyway.

Hasselbaink had enough opportunities, though, to lighten the mood. If his goal served as a particular relief, that owed much to memories of his miss 12 minutes into the second half when he collected Bowyer's through ball, but shot straight at Bosnich. His theatrical gesture of disbelief was suitable comment on the whole sorry mess.

Villa relied heavily on the strong-running from midfield of Ian Taylor, who was their most potent attacking threat in the absence because of influenza of Stan Collymore; Darren Byfield, on his debut, replaced him to little effect.

An injury to David Hopkin and suspensions for Gary Kelly and Alf Inge Haaland gave Leeds' midfield a cobbled-together look, a situation further aggravated when Bruno Ribeiro was carried off with a serious knee injury, the victim of a first-minute challenge by Fernando Nelson. The Portuguese, Ribeiro, has achieved surprising popularity at Elland Road, not least because he bears a passing resemblance to Norman Hunter, although clearly his limbs are a little more delicate.

Apart from a speculative effort apiece from Wallace and Hasselbaink, the game slumbered along. Ten minutes before the interval, Hasselbaink took time out from a token feud with Staunton to head Milosevic's header off the line. Taylor also got free a minute before half-time, but his closerange header fell straight into Martyn's grasp.

A staccato contest failed to improve when Wallace's second-half shot almost broke through for Leeds, it was a brief lightening of the gloom, as if someone had flicked a switch then immediately turned it off again.

It was a mark of Villa's current state of mind that they were so disinclined to take control against a Leeds side who were ripe for the taking. This is a side still in Europe, for heaven's sake. When their captain, Staunton, was booked for time wasting 15 minutes from time, it served as suitable comment on the entire side.

Leeds United: Martyn, Robertson, Radebe, Wetherall, Wallace, Hasselbaink, Ribeiro (Lilley 5), Bowyer, Kewell, Maybury, Molenaar. Subs Not Used: Halle, Jackson, McPhail, Beeney. Goals: Hasselbaink 79.

Aston Villa: Bosnich, Staunton, Ehiogu, Taylor, Draper, Milosevic, Wright, Nelson, Grayson, Scimeca, Byfield (Walker 90). Subs Not Used: Charles, Hendrie, Collins, Oakes.

Booked: Draper, Staunton, Byfield. Goals: Milosevic 85. Att: 36,287.

Referee: D J Gallagher (Banbury).