'Tough time' - Unsung Leeds United hero sings praises of unlikely Elland Road goalscorer and importance of bouncing back
Leeds United midfielder Joe Rothwell has praised goalscorer Max Wober after the Austrian defender came on to score the hosts' second of the game in a 2-0 Elland Road win over Derby County.
Rothwell told reporters after the Whites' victory he was pleased to see Wober get a goal after what has been a 'tough time' for the 26-year-old.
Wober has rarely featured this season, making his only start in the 3-0 cup defeat by Middlesbrough at the beginning of the campaign but was thrust into the action after 20 minutes on Saturday afternoon as Junior Firpo went off with a hamstring injury.
Shortly thereafter, the Austria international exhibited striker's instinct in the Derby penalty area to connect with Brenden Aaronson's cutback, sweeping the ball home and in doing so scoring his first goal in Leeds colours.
"Delighted for Max, obviously been a bit of a, probably, tough time for him. So yeah, I'm delighted for him to get on the scoresheet. And as I say, obviously main thing today was to bounce back from last weekend," Rothwell said.
The AFC Bournemouth loanee was provider for Leeds' opening goal, delivering a pinpoint corner kick with which Joe Rodon headed Leeds in front.
United's set-piece delivery this season has improved with Rothwell in the side, but the midfielder modestly chose to credit his Leeds teammates for the uptick in goals from dead-ball situations.
"I know I've got my targets where I've got to hit, and as long as I hit them, then more often than not, we should have a player there to hopefully win the first header. Thankfully this season more often than not, we've managed to do that. Obviously haven't converted as many as we would have liked but today we were on the right side of it," he added.