A Bittersweet Bournemouth Draw

Leeds 2 - 2 Bournemouth. On the face of it, a point looks good here for Leeds. However, for anyone who watched the game, it may feel like 2 points dropped. 3 early chances spurned, along with a lapse in concentration at death, meant the hosts had to settle for a point. The game will serve as another harsh lesson for Leeds: even the smallest mistakes are punished at this level.

Early Chances

Creating chances and scoring goals has possibly been the fans number one concern going into this season. After 6 games the jury may still be out regarding goal scoring, but creating chances certainly wasn't an issue in the opening moments for Leeds; with mere seconds on the clock, Sean Longstaff jabbed a bouncing ball over the Bournemouth defence and Dominic Calvert-Lewin was through on goal. Unfortunately, his low drive was too close to Petrovic in the Bournemouth goal.

In the 17th minute, Calvert-Lewin had another great chance to open the scoring. Gudmundsson won the ball high up on the left flank, before curling in a cross that was cleared to the edge of the box where it dropped to Sean Longstaff. Longstaff smashed the ball hard and low in the vague direction of the Bournemouth goal, right into the path of Calvert-Lewin, who reacted fast to get a toe to the ball. Again, it was too close to Petrovic, who showed great reflexes to keep it out.

A minute later and Calvert-Lewin had yet another gilt-edged chance. This time Bogle pinged a low cross into Aaronson, who did well to chest the ball and connect with an overhead kick, sending the ball towards the 6 yard box. Despite having space and time on his side, the Leeds striker's headed effort was very tame. I don't think Calvert-Lewin realised the position he was in. If he'd just let the ball drop to his feet, surely Leeds would've been 1 up.

Missed Chances Are Punished

It didn't take long for Leeds to rue those missed chances. With 25 minutes showing on the clock, Anton Stach brushed against a Bournemouth player on the edge of his own area, sending said player into a dramatic tumble. Free-kick given, and an incredibly soft one at that. Based on the short distance from goal and the way he was lining up, it was quite obvious what Antoine Semenyo was going to do: leather it low and hard. The Leeds wall took shape in front of Darlow, with Brenden Aaronson being given the job of 'draft excluder' behind the wall to try and block any low attempts. Pretty easy to defend against something when you know what's coming, right? Well.......Semenyo struck the ball as expected, the Leeds wall inexplicably jumped, Aaronson's attempted block was laughable, and Darlow was left picking it out of the net. 1-0 Bournemouth.

Iraola The Key

This goal seemed to spark Bournemouth into life, they looked a lot more confident and cohesive. Suddenly, it looked like Leeds were going to be in for a long afternoon. I've been pretty disparaging about Bournemouth in the past - small club, no fans, belong in League One etc,etc - but they are so well run, and in Andoni Iraola they have a manger destined for the top. You can tell he is a student of Bielsa; the way they press and the patterns in their play are reminiscent of the great man's style. So fair play to Iraola and his team, it's easy to see how they can make opponents struggle when they're on their game.

Back In The Game

Thankfully Leeds' struggles were fleeting. 11 minutes after Bournemouth's opener, Leeds were level through a goal of almost mythical proportions. You see, if you ask any Leeds fans', they will tell you that we never score from corners. These claims are possibly over-exaggerated, but still, goals from corners do seem to be a rarity. That was not the case on Saturday afternoon, though. Sean Longstaff's excellent out-swinging corner was met by a towering Joe Rodon, whose powerful header, with the aide of a slight nick off of a Bournemouth head, evaded Petrovic's stretching arms. 1-1. It was a goal so simple, it begs the question - why can't they happen more often? Looked like a piece of piss, lads.

Taking The Lead

In the second-half, it didn't take long for Leeds to complete the turnaround. 8 minutes after the restart, Gudmundsson showed great tenacity on the Bournemouth touchline; going to ground and managing to keep the ball alive, at the same time as battling 2 defenders. The ball eventually found its way to Okafor, who tried an audacious shot that was blocked. Bournemouth failed to clear again, and this time the ball landed in front of Aaronson near the penalty spot. He tried his luck. Blocked again. This time, however, the ball fell to Longstaff just inside the penalty area. He struck the bouncing ball with the outside of his right foot and watched it spin towards the goal, hit the inside of the post, and land in the back of the net. Elland Road erupted, limbs everywhere. In my absolutely biased opinion, it's one of the best sights and sounds in football. 2-1 Leeds.

Heartbreak

Leeds battled away for the rest of the second-half, and it looked like they would be well worth their win. The Premier League can be cruel and uncaring, though. And so it proved to be once more. The match was deep into injury-time when Tanaka collided with a Bournemouth player in the middle of the pitch, which the ref deemed to be worthy of a free-kick. It looked soft as fuck, again. But what can you expect when the ref is (probably) a Leeds hating bastard? Anyway, the free-kick was hoofed into the Leeds area, Senesi rose higher than Pascal Struijk to head the ball back towards the edge of the Leeds 6 yard box, where Kroupi was left unmarked to volley past Darlow. A really deflating, gut-punch of an equaliser. But like I said before: mistakes are swiftly punished at this level.

Looking At The Positives

The manner of the equaliser is hard to take, but there were so many positives to take from the game. If you'd have asked any Leeds fans before the game if they'd have taken a point, most would've said yes without much hesitation. Now that the dust has settled and the disappointment has subsided, it's a good result that should be appreciated.

Leeds performed exceptionally well on Saturday, maintaining the momentum from the win at Wolves. Another 2 goals were scored, and many chances were created. It's obviously a negative that those chances were missed, but if they can keep creating them, then goals will certainly follow. The midfield looked brilliant again, especially Ethan Ampadu, who put in a real captains display. I personally enjoyed Ampadu keeping the full-time snake, part-time tinpot hard-man, Tyler Adams, in check. Proper back pocket job.

Next, Leeds welcome Spurs to Elland Road, and they should do so without fear. This Leeds team has all the attributes to make life very uncomfortable for Spurs in Saturday's early kick-off. They may have an incredibly talented and expensive squad, along with a new manager, but they're still.....Spurs. They can be gotten at. On to Saturday.