Sky Sports commentator Don Goodman raves about what ‘brilliant’ Pascal Struijk did in Leeds United v Southampton
Don Goodman was wowed by what “brilliant” Leeds United defender Pascal Struijk did during the Whites’ 3-1 Championship defeat to Southampton on Saturday (30 September).
Leeds saw a six-game unbeaten run in the Championship ended at the St Mary’s Stadium and found themselves three goals down by half-time after an abysmal opening 45 minutes on the South Coast.
Struijk scored in the 58th minute after a fantastic swivel and finish in the area. It was not enough to spark a revival but Goodman was hugely impressed by what he saw when speaking as a co-commentator on Sky Sports.
“Russell Martin will be really disappointed, Sam Byram gets completely free but I tell you what that is a brilliant piece of skill from Pascal Struijk,” Goodman said.
“The first touch is magnificent and then the swivel that makes sure he hits the target. This touch here look at that, then the swivel gives (Gavin) Bazunu absolutely no chance.”
A blip in the road
It really was a poor day at the office for Leeds and one that, truthfully, no one really saw coming.
Daniel Farke’s men came in the contest brimming with confidence having found some consistency, while in contrast the Saints were woefully out of form.
But the Championship has this unrivalled knack of pulling the carpet from under the feet of even the best sides in the league, and so it proved on this occasion.
Struijk’s moment of quality was a rare moment to celebrate for Leeds’ travelling contingent, and it really was a lovely piece of skill – especially for a centre-back!
For Leeds, the best thing to do is chalk this game up to one of those days and focus on getting back to winning ways as soon as possible. Hopefully this is a mere bump in the road in a season that ends up with champagne corks popping in celebration.
In other Leeds United news, one star player put in a 2/10 stinker against the Saints.