Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke said Illan Meslier was “in tears” after the goalkeeper’s glaring mistake cost his side victory at Sunderland.
In the 97th minute of Friday’s match, with the minimum six minutes of added time already up, the Frenchman allowed Alan Browne’s hopeful ball into the box to squirm past him and gift the Black Cats a 2-2 draw.
A win would have taken Leeds level on points with leaders Sunderland at the top of the Championship, but instead they remain three points behind in third.
“After such a situation, you don’t need to talk to Illan, he is the saddest person in the dressing room, he’s more or less in tears,” said Farke.
A dodgy bounce?
Farke admitted he had never experienced such an incident in his 30 years in football, with such a defining mistake coming with effectively the last touch of the match.
The Leeds boss suggested captain Pascal Struijk had seen the ball bounce unkindly in front of his goalkeeper, causing Meslier to let it spin past him.
But Farke could not definitively say if there was a rogue divot on the pitch which had cost his injury-hit side two crucial points at the Stadium of Light after an impressive display.
“After such a situation, you don’t need to speak about it – no-one wants to hear any words,” he added.
“Pascal came over and said he had never seen anything like this. He said it bounced and jumped in the other direction because there was a mark on the pitch.
“I can’t tell you if that was the case because I wasn’t on the pitch, but Pascal was probably in the best position to see. If it was this, it was unbelievably unlucky.
“To lose those points in this way is heartbreaking, is horrendous, is so sad and disappointing for our lads.”
Meslier used to play at the Lorient academy in his native France under the tutelage of Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris.
Le Bris spoke with his former keeper on the pitch after the game and had sympathy for his compatriot.
“I’m disappointed for him because I like this boy and anyone can make a mistake,” said the Sunderland boss.
“For a goalkeeper, when you make a mistake, the consequences are very important. It happened today and we are happy for the final result.”