Daniel Farke's brutal Leeds United verdict on Bournemouth loss, own goal take & James Trafford recommendation

Daniel Farke said Leeds United’s defeat at Bournemouth provided a “brutal” example of football, the Whites boss saluting his side’s performance and issuing strong backing to James Trafford after the keeper’s pivotal mistake in defeat.

Leeds made a very bright start to Saturday’s contest on the south coast and looked to have gone ahead when Dominic Calvert-Lewin converted a James Justin cross after a neat pass from Jayden Bogle but VAR intervened and the goal was disallowed for handball.

Leeds still continued on the front foot but a howler from keeper James Trafford led to the Cherries taking the lead, Trafford’s attempted pass for Ao Tanaka intercepted by Justin Kluivert who unselfishly squared to Evanilson who couldn’t miss and stroked the ball home into an empty net.

It looked set to prove the only goal of the game but Bournemouth bagged a second deep in second half stoppage time through Amine Adli.

Speaking post match, Farke said: “The most important thing is the result and for that of course we are disappointed that we travel away without points.

"Football is brutal. Sometimes it can feel like the most unfair sport in the world because one goal is very often just decisive.

"If you play basketball, you can be unlucky and hit the ring sometimes and the other team not or you play tennis there are so many points, you hit the net, and sometimes you're lucky and not, but always a better player wins or the better team wins a game.

"Football is very often just about one goal it could be also the other way around.

"We would have deserved of course so much more out of this game.

"I think the first half, especially the first 30 minutes we were terrific, played, fantastic football. Created many chances, scored one of the best team goals of the season. I thought we would be in lead.

"Bournemouth had big, big problems to sit with us during the spell and then more less out of nothing they were all of sudden in the lead because we scored more or less an own goal.

"This was of course decisive, also for this game.

"Bournemouth are structured and defend so well, they have not conceded a goal in the last two months at least it feels like this.

"If they are then here in a home game 1-0 up and can defend more or less with each and every player and concentrate on counter attack it's difficult.

"The second half of course we could have been a bit more brutal with our strikes and precise to perhaps force an equaliser.

"But it was also difficult and in the end after some strange decision-making I would say in added time we conceded also a counter attack so it wasn't decisive anymore.

"I think it was crucial that normally at half time we had good chances to be even out of sight with our football.

"But also self inflicted, let's be honest with our own goal.

"We were 1-0 down and this was decisive.

"I can't really speak too negative about anything performance wise.

"I think overall we played a really good away game here, a really good performance.

"Yes you can speak about the wrong decision-making that led to their goal and you could speak about it.

"If you point at defending so deep you should be more concentrated in and around the box to hit the target and to hit the ball two yards wide or over the crossbar because sometimes even if the first strike is blocked then you score from the second phase and perhaps a deflected ball and the ball goes in.

"We could have forced it a bit more in the second half, this is the only thing I could perhaps criticise a bit.

"But apart from this, not moaning at all about performance, commitment, I think, overall it was actually a really good away game although if you just read the result it says something different."

Asked what he could say about Trafford, Farke declared: “"We don't even have to speak about it. James is a terrific young goalkeeper, he was for us outstanding in the season so far. He has saved us points, he will save us points.

"It's the life of football player that the sun is not always shining, and especially belongs also to the football life of a young goalkeeper that there is also sometimes a bad mistake.

"On a difficult day the mistake can be costly overall. I'm pretty sure you will save us way more points than he has perhaps costs us today.

"But in general we win together we lose together.

"We're all happy to have him. For me he's still top class and he has all my trust and all my love.

"My recommendations is he shouldn't watch the game back or the scene back, it makes no sense.

"Sometimes it's a bit annoying. Football can have annoying days. It was one of those says for him and also then of course more or less because of this for us but we won't dwell on that."