Karl Darlow reacts to controversy away from Leeds United after Turkey v Wales
Karl Darlow believes it would’ve been disappointing had Turkey scored their penalty as the Leeds United goalkeeper started for Wales in the Nations League.
The Red Dragons travelled to the Kadir Has Stadium on 16 November, and the Crescent-Stars were awarded a controversial penalty in the 86th minute after Neco Williams was penalised, but Kerem Akturkoglu missed from the spot.
Speaking to S4C [16 November] after the 0-0 draw, Darlow felt Wales didn’t deserve to lose and that Williams’ challenge was fair.
“It would have been a big shame. I thought the challenge was fair, we’d have been hard done by,” he said.
“With the way we defended and the determination we showed, I thought we deserved a point. We showed we are hard to beat. That speaks a lot for the commitment and effort the lads put in.”
Karl Darlow gets much-needed outing away from Leeds United
Darlow permanently signed for Leeds in the summer of 2023 from Newcastle United after multiple spells out on loan from the Magpies.
But Illan Meslier has been Daniel Farke’s preferred option in between the sticks, and the Welsh national would’ve known that game time would be limited when he came to the club.
The Frenchman has been the first choice for several seasons now, and while there have been some instances where his continuity in the team has been questioned, the 24-year-old is unarguably the best shot-stopper in the team.
As a result, Darlow has hardly played for the Whites, featuring just once this season, in the 3-0 loss to Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup on 14 August.
Darlow was only handed his debut for Wales in September this year, and the 34-year-old did well against Turkey, making three saves, one high claim, and also had two punches, one of which was subject to controversy after another call for a penalty.
While the veteran shot-stopper will expectedly be on the bench against Swansea in the Championship on 24 November, the Elland Road faithful will be glad to have a quality second-choice goalkeeper in the squad.
In other Leeds news, Ethan Ampadu was praised by the BBC despite not featuring in Turkey v Wales
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