Nahki Wells endured perhaps his most harrowing day as a professional on Saturday as Huddersfield Town came away from the West Yorkshire derby at Elland Road having suffered a 5-1 hammering at the hands of Leeds United, a club in supposed turmoil.

Amid a febrile atmosphere, with the home supporters among a crowd of 31,103 boisterous in their support of the mysteriously “sacked” Brian McDermott, Huddersfield gave as good as they got in the opening exchanges and hit the woodwork through Oliver Norwood before taking a deserved lead through Danny Ward midway into the first half.

Wells then should have put the visiting side two up as half-time approached, but he fluffed the first of three presentable chances that he had on the day by shooting wide when sent through one-on-one with Paddy Kenny, the Leeds goalkeeper.

Huddersfield would pay for that bit of profligacy when hat-trick hero Ross McCormack, the leading scorer in the Sky Bet Championship, equalised in the second minute of first-half stoppage time from a goalmouth scramble.

With the bit between their teeth, Leeds pounced early in the second half through a spectacular strike from Jimmy Kebe, the winger, who joined on loan from Crystal Palace in the January transfer window.

Wells had a chance to get Huddersfield level when he was found in the box, but the bit of magic that had underlined much of the Bermuda striker’s 17 goals this season eluded him and he could muster only an “air shot”. Ward and Wells, again, had further opportunities for the equaliser, as Huddersfield pressed to find parity.

Then the dam burst. McCormack finished clinically on the end of a pass from Sam Byram, the full back, and the forward netted his 21st league goal — and 22nd for the season — in the 73rd minute, drilling the ball past Alex Smithies in the Huddersfield goal after Cameron Stewart had done the legwork.

Wells was replaced soon after, but the day got worse for the visiting side when Alex Mowatt scored his first goal as a professional, the 18-year-old lobbing Smithies for an emphatic victory that came out of nowhere.

Not only was it was the home side’s first win in nine matches — and first in three against Huddersfield — but it came against the backdrop of uncertainty over the manager and new foreign ownership that is not particularly welcomed.

Massimo Cellino, who owns Cagliari in Italy’s Serie A, became the new Leeds owner after buying a 75 per cent shareholding from Gulf Finance House in Bahrain, the previous owner. It was Cellino’s insistence as the deal was going through that Gianluca Festa, the retired former Middlesbrough defender, be afforded a seat in the dugout during a midweek match that led to a breakdown in the relationship with McDermott, even before one had been properly established.

McDermott was “sacked” via a telephone call on Friday, then sensationally invited to Saturday’s match after it was learnt that the person doing the sacking had no authority to do so. McDermott declined the invitation and Leeds were under the stewardship of Nigel Gibbs, the assistant manager, for the match.

Before the post-match meal had been digested, the club released a brief statement saying that McDermott was still their manager. But it will be a while before Mark Robins and his Huddersfield staff are able to get the taste out of their mouths after a scoreline that was not reflective of what had gone on the field.

“We deserved what we got today; our second half performance was poor,” the Huddersfield manager said.

“The goal on half-time took the wind out of our sails after having played really well. “There were times when we looked dangerous on the break, but again we passed up good chances, which is becoming a big factor in our last few games. We also had numerous in the first half, which would have made the second half totally different. However, we ended up on the back foot, conceded poor goals and our naive defending cost us.”

With Huddersfield now on a four-match losing streak in all competitions, Robins is aware that his job could be on the line if they do not arrest their slide, having slipped to fourteenth in the Championship after Watford beat Brighton and Hove Albion 2-0 yesterday.

“We need to learn and move on quickly,” he said. “Hopefully we will have one or two back because one or two need a rest. I need to pick points up to stay in my post, though.

“I am mindful that we haven’t won in four, but I won’t overreact. Today is a bad day and we feel embarrassed, but we can’t dwell on it. We need to bounce back.”