The decisive moment on Saturday afternoon came early on in the first half when Ao Tanaka was adjudged to have brought down Tyrhys Dolan, as Blackburn Rovers beat Leeds United.
Leeds missed the opportunity to return to the top of the Championship table as they suffered only a third league defeat of the season at Ewood Park. Todd Cantwell scored the only goal from the penalty spot.
A poor result from Leeds, who had come into the game after winning the previous three games against QPR, Swansea and Luton. It saw John Eustace secure a third 1-0 win over Daniel Farke since he arrived.
There was a touch of controversy surrounding Lewis Smith’s decision to hand Blackburn a penalty as Tanaka took out Dolan. Whether the Blackburn man went down easy and if it was in the penalty area.
Tony Dorigo verdict on Blackburn penalty decision as Leeds lose
Leeds had chances to score, with Wilfried Gnonto missing a guilt-edged opportunity while the scores were still 0-0. Had the Italian scored, it would have been a completely different game at Ewood Park.
Leeds icon Tony Dorigo was on co-commentary again and he reacted immediately to Smith pointing to the spot. He believes that it was the right decision and Tanaka should have allowed Dolan to go past.
“No I don’t think he did [get anything of the ball]. He just ran into the player. Dolan was nice and positive, first touch straight across. Unfortunately, Tanaka has collided with Dolan. Referee is there,” Dorigo said.
“When the ball goes past, you’ve just got to allow him to run and I know that is a hard thing to do because he’s through on goal, but that just gives the referee a decision to make,” Dorigo continued.
Quite easily, Ao Tanaka’s worst performance in a Leeds shirt
Tanaka has been a revelation for Leeds. Probably the club’s best player over the last couple of months, the Japan star was voted the club’s October Player of the Month but on Saturday, Tanaka really struggled.
Not only did Tanaka concede the decisive penalty that proved to be the only goal, but Tanaka lost more duels than any other player on Saturday. Tanaka lost nine of 15 duels for Leeds in the middle of the park.
Perhaps, Tanaka is in need of a rest. The midfielder has represented Japan in each of the international breaks and started each of Leeds’ last 11 league games. A week-long rest ahead of Derby could be key.
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