Rodon shares ‘Angry’ Leeds United verdict after what happened in Blackburn loss
Joe Rodon believes his Leeds United teammates will be “very angry” after failing to break down Blackburn Rovers in the 1-0 loss on Saturday.
The Whites failed to find the back of the net at Ewood Park [30 November] after scoring nine goals in their last three Championship outings and were subsequently knocked off the top spot courtesy of a 22nd-minute Todd Cantwell penalty.
However, Rodon believes his teammates’ anger will be directed at themselves rather than the contentious circumstances of the goal, as relayed by Leeds Live [1 December], and urged the Whites to be more “ruthless”.
He said: “We didn’t punish them and we weren’t ruthless enough and we lost the game. We were a bit naive [in the second half] and we lacked a cutting edge.
“We can all say that it’s difficult to break down a team when they have got everybody behind the ball but it wasn’t our day. When those chances come, you have to take them but, unfortunately, we didn’t and we were punished.
“We have fallen short again but, for me personally, I can’t wait to go again, and I’m sure the team is raring to go and are very angry in there [the dressing room].”
Leeds United must address the striker dilemma in January
The Whites dominated possession and recorded more than double the shots on target than the hosts, and yet, one lapse of judgement from Ao Tanaka decided the result at Ewood Park.
Tanaka played into the hands of Tyrhys Dolan as the Blackburn forward timed his run perfectly with the midfielder’s challenge to earn his side the match-deciding spot-kick.
Tensions well and truly boiled over in Lancashire – Lewis Travis and Daniel Farke had to be pulled apart in a furious altercation following the final whistle, and as Rodon shared, the “very angry” atmosphere continued into the dressing room.
However, Joel Piroe, Mateo Joseph, and Patrick Bamford featured on Saturday, and none of the forwards could provide the difference for Leeds as a lack of a recognised consistent goalscorer costs the side once again.
Piroe has been handed the reins to lead the line this season but has struggled to find the net consistently, rotating regularly Joseph, the pair have scored a combined nine goals in 36 Championship appearances – well below the required standard for a side with Premier League aspirations.
Farke is eager to bolster the forward line in the upcoming January transfer window with Manchester City man James McAtee the number one target, but with six fixtures remaining until the window opens, the gap to Sheffield United at the league summit could widen further if the current crop fails to provide the goals.
Leeds, of course, are not expected to win every Championship fixture until the end of the season; however, the squad is borderline Premier League level and drawing blanks in the second tier is unacceptable considering the quality within the side.
In other Leeds news, Daniel Farke shares an instant Joe Rodon injury update after the Whites loss against Blackburn.
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