Sunderland FC 2 Leeds United 2 – Missing the Ball

Sunderland FC 2 Leeds United 2 – Missing the Ball. A winning performance. One howler. Two dropped points. More frustration for the fans.

Sunderland FC 2 Leeds United 2 – Missing the Ball. A winning performance. One howler. Two dropped points. More frustration for the fans.

That should have been a hard fought win for Leeds.  It almost was. Seconds away from being a momentous victory.  The team deserved to win, undoubtedly. Sunderland had Leeds pinned back many times but Leeds had that killer punch.  There are so many talking points from such a hugely watchable match that you could not take your eyes off, but only one mattered – Meslier missing the ball.

The devastating start by Sunderland FC, the two perfectly crafted goals by Leeds, the way the match ebbed and flowed between the teams; but it was Meslier’s howler in the dying seconds that cost Leeds two points, that threw away all the players’ hard work. No wonder Firpo stormed down the tunnel at the end.  This was by far and away Leeds’ best performance so far this season, ruined by a terrible mistake.

This was always going to be a defining moment to the start of the season for Leeds.  So far, Sunderland had won every game at home.  Leeds had yet to lose away.  But Leeds were playing their third match in seven days – against the the team at the top of the table.   Leeds went into this match with an injuries (Solomon, Gruev and Captain Ampadu) – this was the time for the other players to step up – Rothwell and Tanaka.

The match started badly as Sunderland showed their ability to carve up teams at home with their faster pace – which is exactly what they did to Leeds in the first ten minutes.  Despite a desperate save from Meslier, Thomas was free to pick up the loose ball and kick into the empty net.

With the lead Sunderland defended deeply and showed they are just as good as Leeds at holding possession and stretching teams.  Leeds defending valiently but were rocking.

Sunderland with a lead are able to defend deep and make it difficult for Leeds to find a way out; but they did with a perfectly weighted cross from Gnonto to Piroe who with only one man to beat does what he does best and smacks a header into the corner of the net – VAR may have had a different view. This was the first goal Sunderland conceded at home this season.

Sunderland then lost their focus and it was by luck and fluffed chances that Leeds didn’t double their lead.  Asronson and Rothwell were making nuisances of themselves but Ramazani was misfiring all evening. But Sunderland had Jobe Bellingham who was handful for Firpo.

The second goal was another peach.  After a foul on Rodon in the Leeds corner, he sent his free kick long to Aaronson who dropped it to Firpo who surged forward into the Sunderland box, with a quick interchange with Gnonto to score the second goal.

After their goal we were on the ropes but responded well with a Piroe goal, showed reslience, winning loose balls and patiently retaining possession, crafting chances. We had periods of control that silenced the crowd.

Sunderland never gave up pinning Leeds in their own half, but then never looked like scoring.  Rodon looked back to his best in defence with some goal stopping blocks.  But just when it looked like the whistle was ready to be blown, Sunderland sent a long free kick to the edge of the Leeds penalty area, the ball went spinning and bouncing over to Meslier who stood ready to collect it as it spun past him into the net. It looked like a basic error.  Sunderland celebrated the draw as if they had won.  This is likely to be how Meslier’s season will be remembered – missing the ball and two dropped points we could not afford to.

The main plus point from the performance is that Leeds are on a positive trajectory, capable of beating the best team in the league on that day.

Man of the match: Willy Gnonto who keeps on smiling as the opposition hacks him down.

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