Former Leeds United defender Tony Dorigo has singled out a member of Daniel Farke’s squad for praise after a Gabriel Gudmundsson own goal broke their hearts against Fulham.
Leeds acquitted themselves admirably for the majority of their trip to West London, before a late Gabriel Gudmundsson own goal settled a tight encounter.
Although Leeds’ attack came under scrutiny after the game, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin receiving criticism after missing the Whites’ best chance, the Whites’ midfield also struggled to create opportunities as Anton Stach was unable to impose himself.
Daniel Farke was forced to make a change in goal for the game, as Lucas Perri suffered an injury, allowing Karl Darlow to make his first Premier League start in four years. Now, Dorigo has praised the Leeds goalkeeper after an impressive display in defeat.
Gabriel Gudmundsson in action during Fulham v Leeds United - Premier League
Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Tony Dorigo praises Leeds United goalkeeper
Speaking at full-time of the LUTV coverage of the game, former Leeds defender Dorigo singled out Karl Darlow for praise, after he made several important saves in the defeat.
According to Dorigo, Darlow did not get what he deserved for a strong performance. Dorigo said, “That one hurts. It really does, because I think that was an excellent performance. Leeds did everything right.
“Couldn’t quite find the finish, but we were the team pushing. We were the team asking the questions. And of course, the home side, at some point, is going to come back at you.
“But then I thought we were holding out well, defending well. We made our changes and just needed to see the game out to get something.
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“And then a cruel twist of fate, an own goal. Gudmundsson just stood there, and his automatic reaction was to put his head on the ball. And unfortunately, it flies past Karl Darlow in our own net. Darlow made a couple of great saves as well.
“He did not deserve to be beaten like that, but plenty of positives to take. However, it’s going to take me a little while just to get over this one and then get back at it, but the boys performed magnificently and did not get what they deserved.”
Tony Dorigo in action for Leeds United
15 APR 1995: TONY DORIGO OF LEEDS UNITED IS CHALLENGED BY CHRIS SUTTON OF BLACKBURN ROVERS DURING THE CARLING PREMIERSHIP MATCH AT ELLAND ROAD, LEEDS. Mandatory Credit: Clive Brunskill/ALLSPORT
Leeds United legend sends message of support to Gabriel Gudmundsson
In a subsequent post on the social media site X (formerly Twitter), Dorigo also sent a message of support to Gudmundsson after his unfortunate own goal.
Dorigo stated that he has been “very impressed” with the defender in his short Leeds career to date and backed him to bounce back in their next game.
The former England international wrote: “Yesterday’s result for Leeds at Craven Cottage still hurts, the boys didn’t deserve that.
“I feel for Gabi Gudmundsson – he’s had a fantastic start to his Leeds United career. I’ve been very impressed, but sometimes s— happens, we all go again at Wolves.”
With Wolves currently sitting at the bottom of the table with zero points from four games, and expected to be one of Leeds’ relegation rivals, Gudmundsson cannot afford to dwell on his unfortunate error for long.