Daniel Farke's reason for Leeds United loss at Blackburn Rovers amid criticism of individuals — YEP 30/11/24

By Graham Smyth

Leeds United’s slow start to the game and their approach to physical battles cost them dearly in a 1-0 defeat by Blackburn Rovers according to Daniel Farke.

Farke found himself on the wrong end of a 1-0 defeat at the hands of John Eustance for the third meeting in a row, thanks to Todd Cantwell’s first half penalty. Ao Tanaka’s foul on Tyrhys Dolan was sufficient to decide the game, with Leeds struggling to show the attacking potency that was so evident in the last two outings. Leeds, who were sloppy in possession, did have their moments but found Aynsley Pears in fine form between the sticks for Rovers. Blackburn, who hit the crossbar before taking the lead, should have put the game beyond doubt in the second half but Cantwell spurned a pair of golden opportunities.

The Whites manager congratulated Blackburn on their victory and felt it all stemmed from how the two sides began the fixture. “They had the better start and it was decisive and they deserved to win the game,” he said. “We started a bit too slow, too many unnecessary free-kicks and fouls. The penalty was the same. Lazy is perhaps too harsh but we didn't lead the duels proper. We should have been a bit more on it, invested a bit more, been a bit quicker in the head but we were not and Blackburn were perhaps not the most dangerous team because we did have situations we should have scored, but they were able to use their situation.

“Second half it was clear it would always be difficult against a good home side, they had less load than us in the last two weeks but I don't want to search for excuses. The slow start was the reason we lost this game.”

Farke became involved in a verbal disagreement with Blackburn captain Lewis Travis at the end of the game, before the two eventually hugged, but said his frustration was mostly aimed at his own side’s performance. He said: “I'm struggling to be over-critical, I know the Championship, there could be a poor half with so much load. But after a pretty comfortable win over Luton we have to be ready for the battle, aggressive, do the hard yards and lead the duels proper. I was frustrated we didn't start proper. We were far from being perfect today.”

Junior Firpo returned to the starting line-up after a red card suspension, with Sam Byram unavailable due to a minor hamstring injury. Farke was not content with the Dominican Republic international’s first half showing. “Rusty, but it was due to his behaviour that he was suspended for three games and that broke his rhythm,” said Farke. “For that there are no excuses. I think second half much better but first half was not on a top level we have to be honest. Sam Byram or Isaac Schmidt, to have them available would be two options as well but both not available due to injuries. I was hoping for a better first half from Junior.”

Farke, who went into the game with another concern when centre-back Joe Rodon reported some back pain in the warm-up before recovering, reserved criticism for a Rovers player he refused to name but said it was no excuse for the defeat.

“In terms of what we invested the second half was much better,” he said. “There was a player six times [down] on the pitch, I don't want to name him, but there was never treatment. It lasts one minute, the referee speaks to him and he gets up. It breaks the rhythm. I love this country because we're never soft and I like this mentality. Meanwhile we're celebrating a player when he's wasting time, I don't like this attitude. You can label it professional, smart. If a referee doesn't stop it of course it's difficult. [But] we have to take out of this game, we have to start a bit more on the front foot.”