Leeds United: Pascal Struijk sends Illan Meslier message after Sunderland blunder | OneFootball

Sunderland equalised through a late Illan Meslier mistake for a 2-2 draw against Leeds United on Friday night

Pascal Struijk has issued a message in support of Illan Meslier following his costly blunder in Leeds United’s 2-2 draw with Sunderland on Friday night.

Alan Browne levelled the score in the dying moments of the game but the goal was due to Meslier’s mistake - with the Frenchman misjudging the path of the ball and failing to make a simple save.

The goalkeeper has been the subject of criticism in the immediate aftermath of the incident, which cost the Whites an important two points.

Leeds had initially gone behind in the ninth-minute courtesy of a Chris Rigg goal, but Joel Piroe and Junior Firpo had put Daniel Farke’s side ahead before the hour mark.

But a 97th-minute equaliser meant that the two teams shared the spoils to go into the October international break.

Struijk issues supportive message to Meslier

Struijk has issued a message of support to his Leeds teammate following his error in the draw on Friday evening.

The defender has encouraged the keeper and indicated that the team is still very together after the mistake.

“Cruel game sometimes,” wrote Struijk, via his personal Twitter account.

“Let’s keep having each other’s backs.”

Former Leeds striker Jermaine Beckford also issued a defence of the 24-year-old online.

The pundit suggested that Meslier will more than make up for his mistake over the course of the campaign by earning them more points than he lost against Sunderland.

“I really feel for Meslier tonight, not put a foot wrong tonight and in the blink of an eye one mistake changes the whole game in the final seconds,” wrote Beckford, via Twitter.

“Fortunately he's going to save us more points than he will cost us. Let's get behind him.”

The result has moved Leeds up to third in the Championship table, with the rest of the weekend’s action still to come.

Leeds United’s current form

Leeds have now drawn their last two league games, also earning a point away to Norwich City midweek.

The 1-1 draw at Carrow Road was secured after going behind 1-0 in the opening 15 minutes, with Largie Ramazani’s equaliser keeping things level.

Farke’s team will be aiming to compete for automatic promotion this season but missed out on the opportunity to temporarily move into the top two overnight with the late Sunderland leveller.

Next up for the Yorkshire outfit is a home game against potential promotion rivals Sheffield United after the upcoming international break, with the two sides set to meet on 18 October.

Leeds must move on from Meslier mistake

Leeds cannot dwell on the fact they slipped up and dropped two points at the death against Sunderland.

Two draws in a row are disappointing but Farke’s team continue to play well and create plenty of chances to win games.

Going behind in both of those games was where they were really let down, having been quite defensively solid in the weeks prior.

If they can play like they did on Friday night consistently then there should be very few concerns over their promotion prospects for this season.