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Leeds captain Liam Cooper takes blame for Derby’s equaliser

Liam Cooper of Leeds United in action with Andreas Weimann of Derby County during the Sky Bet Championship match between Derby County and Leeds Uni...
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Leeds United drew 2-2 in the Championship once again, but this time, the point was a lot more difficult to take for Paul Heckingbottom’s men.

Liam Cooper of Leeds United in action with Andreas Weimann of Derby County during the Sky Bet Championship match between Derby County and Leeds United at iPro Stadium on February 21, 2018...

Liam Cooper has told BBC Radio Leeds that he will take the blame for Derby’s stoppage-time equaliser in Leeds’ 2-2 draw, but the defender insisted that he did not get a call before his header had to be cleared for a corner.

The Whites went into the game still awaiting their first win of Paul Heckingbottom’s tenure, but they had plenty of momentum on their side having come from 2-0 down to draw with Bristol City at the weekend.

Paul Heckingbottom Leeds manager gestures during the Sky Bet Championship match between Derby County and Leeds United at iPro Stadium on February 21, 2018 in Derby, England.

And it appeared that they may be about to end their wait for that elusive win as goals from Pierre-Michel Lasogga and Gjanni Alioski saw the Whites boast a 2-1 lead heading into the final five minutes against the Rams at Pride Park.

However, the home side were given another chance as a fairly harmless ball into the box saw Cooper try and clear the ball with his head when there were no Derby players close by and there was more than enough time for Felix Wiedwald to come off his line and comfortably claim the ball.

Felix Weidwald of Leeds United gestures during the Sky Bet Championship match between Derby County and Leeds United at iPro Stadium on February 21, 2018 in Derby, England.

With the Leeds skipper seemingly off-balance, his header had to be cleared out for a corner by Gaetano Berardi and the Rams ultimately took full advantage as they found of the back of the net from the resulting set-piece.

But while many of the supporters will blame Wiedwald for not informing Cooper that he had time and was not under pressure, the centre-back suggested that he has to shoulder some of the responsibility.

“We’ve just got to stay disciplined with our defending. I’ll hold my hands up tonight for the second goal definitely. I didn’t get a call, but I should do better,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.

In fairness to Cooper, it was not the only point in the evening where Wiedwald’s apparent lack of communication led to an unnecessary clearance, as Adam Forshaw was clearly frustrated with the stopper after a similar incident in the first-half.

What did you make of Cooper’s performance in Leeds’ draw?