Leeds United man points finger inwardly with questions asked after heartbreak
Leeds United fell to another late goal as three points turned to one against Bournemouth on Saturday.
Leeds United defender Joe Rodon pointed the finger at himself rather than elsewhere in the moments after Bournemouth's suckerpunch equaliser at Elland Road.
The Whites were agonisingly close to an impressive home victory when 2-1 up in the 93rd minute. But Ao Tanaka got caught in possession and his reaction conceded a free-kick in Leeds' half. There was a slight pause in proceedings while Daniel Farke replaced Dominic Calvert-Lewin with Lukas Nmecha and though the substitute had to race to the box to do some immediate defending that time was sufficient for Leeds to organise themselves to repel the free-kick. Yet when the delivery came and Pascal Struijk was beaten in the air, Eli Junior Kroupi ran in at the back post completely unmarked to sidefoot a volley home. It was a comedy of errors for the home side, though few inside the ground were laughing.
Rodon, who was marking Antoine Semenyo and had no real involvement in the goal, was left asking questions but looked inwards initially. Whatever answers were found this week when Leeds went through their analysis, the important thing will be to avoid a repeat of such a scenario.
"Even me, as an individual and defender, I look at myself first," he said. "Could I have adjusted the line, could we be higher from the free-kick and when we're in possession, could we not give it away and be more clever and smart in the dying moments of the game? If you put us in that position again, I'm sure we would adapt and do things differently and it's all about mentality. You’ve got to win the first ball and seal the game."
A point against Bournemouth was still a good result in the manager's eyes and Rodon took positives from how Leeds performed against a team that has earned its fair share of plaudits already this season.
Joe Rodon on Leeds United reaction after Bournemouth heartbreak
"You've seen how they've started and they're a top team and I'm sure they'll be up there for the season," he said.
"We've got to take credit for ourselves. This is where we want to be as a club, as a team. We want to belong in this league and we've got to keep improving, keep working hard, and we've got to learn from these experiences."
Up next is Tottenham Hotspur, the very club who first loaned and then sold Rodon to Leeds United. They sit fourth in the Premier League table and will present another incredibly difficult test for Farke's men. Rodon expects Leeds to respond in the way they did to their other last-gasp disappointment this season at Craven Cottage.
"We saw what happened to us at Fulham and we showed a good reaction last weekend and, but for the dying moments of the game unfortunately, we walk away with another win [against Bournemouth]," he said.
"This team is full of quality and it shows how much we're determined to stay in and want to be in this league. We’ve just got to regroup and get ready to go again. You saw the fight today."