'I thought' - Joe Rodon pinpoints what got Leeds United through Crystal Palace as focus turns to Brentford
The defender fought tooth and nail to maintain Leeds United's clean sheet at Selhurst Park.
Leeds United defender Joe Rodon has praised the spirit of his teammates following Sunday's hard-fought 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace.
Rodon was at the heart of an outstanding defensive performance at Selhurst Park, with Leeds made to play out the entire second-half a man down. Gabriel Gudmundsson was shown a controversial second yellow card in first-half added-time, with referee Thomas Bramall forgetting he’d already booked the Swede.
That decision came just minutes after Dominic Calvert-Lewin dragged a penalty wide but rather than crumble, Leeds regrouped at half-time and came out fighting. Daniel Farke introduced Ilia Gruev and Jayden Bogle for Brenden Aaronson and Lukas Nmecha, with the aim being to contain the hosts.
And it worked, with Palace failing to register a single shot on target and a disallowed Jefferson Lerma header the only major scare. Rodon played a huge part in that defensive effort, heading clear crosses and cutting out passes, but the centre-back credited his teammates after full-time.
“I think in the first half we kind of started a little bit slow but then we grew into the game,” Rodon told Premier League Productions. “Of course we had the penalty and didn’t put it away but listen, that’s football, you have got to react.
“I thought the boys showed great spirit today. Every point is important so, yeah, delighted to come away with a point.”
It was during this exact round of fixtures during the 2022/23 campaign that Leeds crumbled to lose 5-1 at home to Crystal Palace, a result now seen as a sliding doors moment in the relegation battle. But even amid the adversity on Sunday, Rodon and his teammates stood tall.
Leeds United spirit on show ahead of huge Brentford clash
Despite being a man down, away from home against a Palace side that could bring Jean-Philippe Mateta, Yeremy Pino and Adam Wharton off the bench, Leeds rarely looked troubled. Half-time introductions Gruev and Bogle both settled into the task while leaders such as Ethan Ampadu and Pascal Struijk set the tone.
While frustration will linger around Gudmundsson’s red card and Calvert-Lewin’s missed penalty, the away end at Selhurst Park showed its appreciation for a mammoth defensive performance after full-time. And with a huge game at home to Brentford coming up this weekend, that togetherness will do no harm.
“Even the boys that came on at half time, you could see, you know, everyone knows their roles and we all have a responsibility,” Rodon added. “And that just shows the unity and togetherness in the group.
“Like I said, that is going to be really important going into this last stage of the season and yeah, I believe we stick together and we will be successful. There is a big game coming this weekend and we are going to give everything and we want to win that game.”
Victory over Brentford on Saturday night would take Leeds onto 35 points, putting them within touching distance of achieving their point-per-game target. It could take a little more to guarantee safety but with eight games still to go, they are well-placed to fend off their rivals.