'He's everywhere' - Joe Rodon singles out 'key' Leeds United star as defiant dressing room mood revealed
Leeds United saw an excellent performance end in heartbreak after Bournemouth's late equaliser.
Joe Rodon heaped the praise on teammate Sean Longstaff for being ‘everywhere’ during Saturday’s 2-2 draw at home to Bournemouth.
The pair combined to get Leeds’ first goal of the game at Elland Road, with Longstaff’s corner landing on the head of Rodon to cancel out Antoine Semenyo’s free-kick opener. The former went from creator to scorer shortly after half-time, producing a brilliant half-volleyed effort to put his side 2-1 up.
Leeds defended their lead right up until the 93rd minute and a heart-breaking Eli Kroupi leveller, with Longstaff covering every inch of the Elland Road turf in a bid to keep Bournemouth at bay. The tireless former Newcastle United man had quality in possession as well and earned the praise of his teammate after full-time.
“I can't praise Sean enough,” Rodon said. “He's been absolutely outstanding and he's gonna be a key figure for us going forward. You saw again today, he's everywhere.
“Sean brings that calmness, experience and he knows where to be in the moments of the game. What a brilliant finish. I’m very happy for him and hopefully there’s many more to come.”
Longstaff’s goal really should have proved the winner, with Bournemouth not looking like scoring until a late second-phase set-play bore fruit. Marcos Senesi beat Pascal Struijk to a crucial flick on, with Kroupi putting past Karl Darlow to silence the vast majority of Elland Road.
Leeds should have been clear by that point too, with Farke admitting after full-time his side had enough chances to win two Premier League games inside the opening 45 minutes. Dominic Calvert-Lewin spurned several early openings while Rodon was a constant set-piece threat.
Leeds United dressing room mood after Bournemouth draw
That wastefulness, combined with the late but entirely avoidable Bournemouth equaliser, was a source of frustration inside Elland Road but that frustration is testament to how well Leeds performed against a good outfit. And a defiant Rodon insists the dressing room mood was positive even in the immediate aftermath of two dropped points.
“It's all about the details in this league,” he added. “If you don't take your chances, you're going to get punished by top teams and that's what happened today, unfortunately.
“This is football. You can't dwell on things. You've got to dust yourself off and get ready to go again for the next game. [The dressing room mood is] positive. They're a top team. We knew coming into this game that they're one of the most high-intensity teams in the league. We had to match that, work hard.
“You've got to be smart in this league. We had early chances and maybe on another day we take them and then it's a different story. But we can only learn from this experience and be better next time.”
Despite the late gut-punch, Leeds remain unbeaten at home this season having welcomed three solid teams to LS11 in Everton, Newcastle and Bournemouth. Farke’s side are back on their own turf next weekend, with another in-form opponent in Tottenham Hotspur their Saturday-lunchtime visitors.