The Leeds midfielder impressed upon his return from injury.
Neil Redfearn was full of praise for returning Leeds United midfielder Rodolph Austin on Saturday afternoon, according to BBC Radio Leeds.
The 29-year-old made his injury comeback after several games out and impressed for Leeds in midfield, despite the Yorkshire side going on to lose 2-1 to Charlton Athletic in the Championship.
And boss Redfearn had plenty of good things to say about Austin’s distribution for Leeds against Charlton.
Indeed, the 49-year-old said: “He gave us that impetus and his range of passing was excellent. The number of times he switched play and picked full backs out – I thought we got down the sides of them really well [thanks to Austin’s influence].”
Interestingly, though, Austin’s best feature against Charlton wasn’t his passing…
| Match | Interceptions Won | Minutes Played | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rodolph Austin | Charlton vs Leeds | 11 | 90 |
| Giuseppe Bellusci | Leeds vs Ipswich | 8 | 90 |
| Gaetano Berardi | Wigan vs Leeds | 8 | 90 |
| Luke Murphy | Wolves vs Leeds | 8 | 90 |
As Opta stats show, it was the 29-year-old’s ability off the ball to win it back that was his best quality at the Valley on Saturday.
And Austin’s 11 interceptions is a season’s record for any Leeds player – more than any other defender or midfielder.
Austin’s quality, then, is clear to see, while it’s also obvious exactly where the midfield man excels. Leeds had missed him of late but his return brought some much-needed steel back to the centre of the park for Redfearn’s men.
It helped them dominate the Championship clash. How they went on to lose it, though, is another matter…
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