Daniel Farke was joking, of course, but it was testament to just how remarkable Joe Rodon performed during Leeds United’s 1-0 win over Oxford that you still felt the need to double-check the stats.
Just in case.
In a season full of stand-out individual performances, the one Joe Rodon produced at the Kassam Stadium maybe sits head and shoulders above the rest.
Daniel Farke wondered if Leeds could handle Oxford’s physicality. As it turned out, he needn’t have lost even a wink of pre-match sleep.
Because, while promotion rivals Sheffield United fell victim to one of Will Vaulks’ trademark long throws, an imperious Rodon ensured that the closest Oxford came to another coupon-busting Championship giant-killing was when Cameron Brannagan curled a shot towards Karl Darlow’s bottom corner with only seven minutes on the clock.
Daniel Farke cracks Joe Rodon joke as Leeds United beat Oxford
That this accounted for half of Darlow’s saves across 100 or so minutes of high-pressure action was thanks not only to the impressive command he had over his penalty area – Darlow continues to justify Farke’s decision to swap out the ever-flappable Illan Meslier – but also the brilliance of Rodon, Ethan Ampadu, Ao Tanaka and Ilia Gruev.
Leeds United’s great, impenetrable wall.
“So difficult, this game,” Farke begins. “Very happy. We had lots of control. They tried in the second-half to push for it. If you don’t score the second goal, then you have to show resilience and defend without any mistakes. They had one chance in the first half and it was a good save from Karl.
“We didn’t allow them one more chance. I am pretty proud of the lads because it was a massive win for us and a top performance.
“When the long balls or throw-ins are coming in, anything can happen. We are not the tallest side, we are not the most physical side.
“You have to show steel and resilience if you don’t score the second goal. Big compliments for all my defensive players. When the ball is loose to the halfway line, Vaulks throws it up front. Rodon had to win 127 headers today! We don’t have the tallest side, but we dealt with it.
“I am unbelievably proud of these three points.”
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Now, of course Rodon did not win quite as many as 127 headers. Farke’s post-match praise delivered with a demure smile and a healthy dose of hyperbole.
But, as the stats show, Rodon did win eight out of ten of his aerial duels. Not only that, a tally of nine clearances was more than double his seasonal average of 4.7.
On a night where Leeds United News handed out no fewer than six eights and above in our post-match ratings – Joe Rodon picked up a perfect ‘ten’ at the Kassam – Farke knows that a repeat on Monday may be enough to secure a return to the Premier League.
“On Monday, we need our supporters to carry us a bit. We have chance to create something very special,” Farke says, a Leeds win over Stoke and a Sheffield United failure against Burnley away from a third promotion as a manager out of England’s second-tier.
“A very good situation. [But] I won’t allow us to think far ahead. We have to focus.”
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