Bailey Peacock-Farrell should have arguably done better for the second goal that he conceded in Leeds United’s win.
Marcelo Bielsa’s men have moved three points clear at the top of the Championship. But it appeared that their winning run was about to come to an end as Rovers took a 2-1 lead in the 90th minute at Elland Road.
Charlie Mulgrew’s long-range free-kick found the bottom corner despite Peacock-Farrell getting his hand to the ball before it crossed the line. It appeared to be a mistake from the stopper.
Luckily for the Northern Ireland international, all the goal seemed to do was spark Leeds into life as Kemar Roofe scored twice in stoppage-time to ensure that the Whites secured their seventh win in a row.
Once the dust settles, Peacock-Farrell may perhaps face a little more criticism for the apparent error. After the full-time whistle, Whelan suggested that the 22-year-old should have done much better.
“He’s got his positioning all wrong. It was a soft hand that made contact with the ball. He needed a stronger hand there as well and it’s managed to get into the back of the net. So there are these sort of question marks and this is why it’s such a difficult position to play.
“He’ll be the first one criticising himself. When he looks back on it, he’ll understand. I know he’s still learning but you’ve got to learn quickly in this game because we can’t afford anymore mistakes like that.”
Overall, Peacock-Farrell has enjoyed an excellent season with only a handful of moments for which he deserves criticism. He is still developing, and has been the hero on a few occasions – most notably against Reading when he saved a last-minute penalty.
Obviously Bielsa would rather Peacock-Farrell made no mistakes. But all goalkeepers make them, so having those wake-up calls in games that Leeds go on to win has to be the best-case scenario as long as he learns from this recent blip.
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