Gary Rowett blasts what ‘Poor’ Joe Rothwell did in Millwall v Leeds United – ‘Very Wasteful’
Gary Rowett blasted Joe Rothwell for a “poor” and “very wasteful” set-piece delivery as Leeds United were beaten 1-0 by Millwall at The Den on Wednesday.
While the score was level in the first half, Leeds had an excellent opportunity to put some pressure on Millwall goalkeeper Lukas Jensen from a set piece after Wilfried Gnonto had won a foul on the left flank.
Rothwell was the man to put the ball into the box but his delivery was woeful and Rowett criticised him for it live on Sky Sports+ (6 November, 8:10pm).
Rowett said: “Poor delivery, wasn’t it? Rothwell usually hits that ball with inswinging pace, it’s usually a very, very inviting ball in there for Leeds, not necessarily known for their strength at set-pieces.
“An opportunity to put Millwall under pressure straight into the keeper’s hands, that was very wasteful.”
Leeds United need to make more from set-pieces
According to Whoscored, Leeds have only scored twice from a set-piece situation this season and is certainly a worthy cause for concern going forward.
A tally only worsened by Norwich City and Plymouth Argyle, who have both scored from one. Quite remarkably, Derby County lead the charts for that statistic scoring an impressive nine goals from set-piece situations.
The Whites have an abundance of quality in their squad and many of those players possess significant threat from set pieces but that threat is irrelevant if the delivery is poor.
Leeds could find themselves far better off this season if they were to improve their set-piece abilities.
Rothwell’s failure to deliver a good ball into the box has happened on far too many occasions for Daniel Farke’s side from various different players.
In certain games, set pieces could prove to be crucial for victory and Leeds need to start utilising them far more effectively.
In other Leeds United news, Alex Neil has made a prediction on how the Whites will fare in their bid for promotion.
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