Leeds striker Tyler Roberts said scoring his first Premier League goal has taken a big weight off his shoulders after Tuesday night’s 2-0 victory at Southampton.
The game looked to be heading for a goalless draw until Patrick Bamford poked the ball through the legs of Saints goalkeeper Alex McCarthy to give Leeds a 73rd-minute lead.
Substitute Roberts then sealed victory in added time when he tapped the ball into the back of the net.
“I’ve been striving towards scoring and been frustrated it hadn’t come before,” Roberts told leedsunited.com.
“It’s a big weight off my shoulders and the emotions came out, I’ve been practicing my finishing, so when I got the chance, I was ready for it.”
The victory saw Leeds move above Arsenal and Everton – who both play on Wednesday – and into eighth place to guarantee a top-half Premier League finish.
Roberts added: “I don’t think anybody really expected us to finish in the top 10 but we’re the sort of team who will always look up.
“We always try to push forward and get even higher, so if we can finish higher it will be even better.
“It’s a great achievement from the boys, I think it’s credit to the way that we set up and play each game.
“We aren’t the happiest with the performance, but at the end of the day, we’ve got the three points which shows great character from the boys.”
Southampton captain Kyle Walker-Peters said Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side need to take their chances.
Saints had most of the possession in the first half – and had a number of chances – but were unable to find the breakthrough.
“I thought we were good in the first half,” Walker-Peters told the club website.
“I thought we were on top for most of it, if not all of it. Again, (we were) unfortunate not to take any of our chances and we got punished in the second half.
“When you’re on top, you’ve got to take your chances, just like they did. Second-half they get that one chance and they take it. We need to start doing that.”
