One first half headed goal by Tresor Kandol was enough to win the match for the visitors with Swindon unable to snatch a deserved equaliser despite the majority of the attacking play, writes Adrian Smith.
Leeds kicked off playing towards the Town End having lost new loan signing (who only joined on Friday) Stephen O'Halloran in the warm-up and he was replaced by Fraser Richardson.
Phil Smith showed his alertness in the first minute to rush from his goal and clear a through ball aimed for top scorer Jermaine Beckford who found himself unmarked behind the Swindon defence.
Swindon had a good opportunity to take the lead in the 4th minute when a Christian Roberts free-kick was flicked on to the unmarked Lee Peacock who had time and space to shoot from 6 yards but he was unable to repeat his midweek heroics and blasted the ball over the bar.
Five minutes later Roberts managed to outpace the Leeds defence and darted down the left wing before sending a cross field ball aimed for Simon Cox and although the ball evaded Leeds keeper Casper Ankergren, it was just too far ahead of Cox who needed an extra touch to control the ball before sending an angled across the area which was hoofed clear by the defence.
Jermaine Beckford also wasted a good chance shortly afterwards when a free-kick from the Leeds right wing saw the ball rebound to Beckford but he repeated Lee Peacock's similar earlier effort and blasted the ball high over the bar.
Miguel Comminges was fouled on the right wing but the free-kick by Roberts lacked height and was easily cleared up field. Shortly afterwards Billy Paynter tried his luck with a shot from 20 yards but his effort went well wide of the lefthand upright.
Swindon were forced into a substitution when former QPR defender Patrick Kanyuka had to leave the field on his first home start in a Town shirt, after taking a knock in the 16th minute to be replaced by Jerel Ifil who was given an early chance to reclaim his place in the middle of Swindon's defence. The injury later proved to be a groin injury, with Kanyuka likely to be ruled out of Tuesday's clash at least.
Welshman Christian Roberts was doing his best to score on St Davids Day by firing in a shot after some tricky footwork but his effort went high and wide of the Leeds goal.
Jermaine Beckford was lucky to escape with only a yellow card shown by referee Chris Foy when he scythed Comminges down very late in front of the Town End
Leeds took a lead against the run of play in the 25th minute when a corner was not cleared properly and the ball was crossed back in where it was missed by several Swindon defenders and was headed home by the unmarked Tresor Kandol.
Swindon took the setback in their stride and responded by some determined attacking which resulted in a corner taken by Roberts but the ball evaded all the Town forwards and was cleared downfield.
Jamie Vincent gained a corner for Swindon in the 32nd minute but the Leeds keeper easily took Roberts's cross and he launched another attack which eventually resulted in a cross by Prutton which Beckford headed just wide. Three minutes later Paynter did well to wrongfoot Richardson and dart into the Leeds penalty area but he elected to cross the ball towards Cox when a shot seemed the better option and unfortunately a defender hoofed the ball clear.
There was a hint of panic in the Leeds defence in the 38th minute which led to a corner for Swindon and when the ball was crossed, Simon Cox amazingly managed to head over the bar when kneeling 3 yards in front of goal. Shortly afterwards Swindon had another corner which saw Hasney Aljofree fire in angled shot which struck a defender and the ball was cleared.
Cox was clearly fired up and some strong running earned a corner for Swindon but Roberts cross was headed away by the Leeds defence in the 42nd minute. The home crowd were angered when the referee appeared to ignore two blatant handballs while standing only two or three yards away.
Two minutes of added time were played with Swindon pressing for an equaliser but the Robins players left the field to a good round of applause after a committed first half performance against Leeds United.
Half Time: Swindon Town 0 Leeds United 1
Swindon kicked off the second half looking determined to try and get something out of the match with Christian Roberts playing a prominent role charging up and down the left wing and he also gave Leeds a scare with a cross which landed on the back of the net.
Roberts also set up another useful attack where he sent a long ball to Cox who chested the ball off to Paynter and his pass to the overlapping Vincent saw the Robins full back cross into the penalty area but the ball was esily caught by Ankergren.
Swindon continued to push for a deserved equaliser and Paynter found himself with time and space after a scramble at a corner but he only managed to prod the ball wide. Paynter had another chance to score from a cross but his header looped over the bar from a cross by Comminges in the 56th minute. Three minutes later Roberts fired in a useful looking shot which only just went wide after a measured build-up.
The Robins were going all out for the equaliser and earned a corner in the 60 minute but once again the ball was easily cleared upfield despite some pressure from Devizes-born midfielder Chris Allen who was clearly enjoying a second successive start under Maurice Malpas's regime.
The pressure left to another corner in the 62nd minute which saw a sustained attack by Swindon with Paynter and Allen causing some panic in the defence but the referee again angered Swindon fans awarding a free-kick for a straightforward tackle.
Leeds were clearly struggling to contain the home attacks and Swindon upped the ante by replacing Allen with the more attack minded Jon-Paul McGovern midway through the half and that clearly made a difference as Swindon pushed forward in waves of attacks.
Phil Smith almost got caught out from a David Prutton corner in the 70th minute when he was almost caught out by the cross but he just managed to fist the ball over the crossbar at the expense of another corner which was cleared.
There was an amazing passage of play starting in the 72nd minute when a Comminges header from close range was pushed away by Ankergren straight to Roberts and his shot was somehow kept out by the keeper when a goal seemed the certain outcome. Moments later a good move involving Comminges and McGovern led to the midfielder sending a good cross to the back post where the ball just evaded Peacock and Paynter.
Leeds replaced Kilkenny with Alan Thompson in the 80th minute and shortly afterwards Jonathan Howson went close for the visitors with a good dipping shot which only just went over the bar with Phil Smith furiously backpedalling.
Swindon were again upping the pressure with some useful attacks involving McGovern and Cox but they were struggling to get a clear shot on goal.
The referee continued to make some decisions which angered the home crowd awarding a free-kick against Roberts on the halfway line when it was clearly the Swindon player who had been fouled from behind. Jerel Ifil was then cautioned for some shirt pulling just outside the area which led to a free-kick being awarded against Swindon but the home defence cleared their lines.
Three minutes of added time were indicated by the 4th official and once again a marginal decision went against Swindon when the Leeds keeper caught the ball and although his momentum carried him over the goal line, the referee awarded a free-kick against Swindon ruling that Paynter's challenge as a foul and that proved to be the last main action of the match.
The home fans left disappointed after seeing the Swindon players give everything but they had been undone by one superb first half header from Kandol and an inability to break down a determined Leeds defence so Gary McAllister celebrated his first win as manager of the Yorkshire club having replaced former Swindon manager Dennis Wise.
Full Time: Swindon Town 0 Leeds United 1
