West Ham were denied a well-deserved victory as Rodrigo drove home a Leeds equalizer to save a point in a thrilling encounter at Elland Road.
The Hammers looked set to end their five-game losing streak with a win marking the death of co-chairman David Gold, whose death was announced by the club six hours before kick-off.
Teenage striker Wilfried Gnonto had given the hosts the lead by driving the ball home after 27 minutes, only for Lucas Paqueta to equalize with a well-taken penalty after VAR intervened following Pascal Struijk’s foul on Jarrod Bowen .
West Ham, however, couldn’t keep control of a thorny game after Gianluca Scamacca punished Brenden Aaronson’s wayward pass with a first shot from 25 yards just 45 seconds into the second half.
And with 20 minutes left, Rodrigo broke through a pass from Jack Harrison and beat Lukasz Fabianski with a low shot.
In a frantic finish, with frayed tempers in the respective technical areas and Leeds boss Jesse Marsch booked for sarcastically applauding his team’s award of a shot, substitute Michail Antonio and then goalkeeper Fabianski saved the visitors.
Antonio cleared Liam Cooper’s header from the line, before missing inches at the other end to turn Manuel Lanzini’s cross in injury time.
Then, with virtually the finishing touch, Fabianski made a brilliant one-handed save to keep Rodrigo out.
West Ham’s struggles continue
As a lifelong fan of the game, as well as his beloved West Ham, Gold would no doubt have enjoyed the spectacle of this competition, played at high speed, in pouring rain in front of passionate fans.
The sight of a bouquet of flowers on the seat Gold would have occupied was poignant, next to longtime business partner David Sullivan, who made the trip to West Yorkshire.
But even with a starting line-up ultimately containing most of West Ham’s key transfer window acquisitions, they have struggled.
Former Paris St-Germain defender Thilo Kehrer was particularly wasteful in possession and had to rely on the covering efforts of Nayef Aguerd, making his first league start, to prevent his unforced errors from being properly punished.
Boss David Moyes was reportedly unhappy with how Leeds opened up their defense to score their opener and also how the hosts were able to tame a midfield containing England World Cup star Declan Rice then as the contest reached its crescendo.
The performance was better than recent efforts which should work in the Scot’s favor but, in a world where results matter, West Ham’s position in the league doesn’t provide much reason for comfort as only difference of goals keeps them above third Everton.
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