Leeds United U21s suffer second Sunderland blow as 'naive' decisions punished
Leeds United Under-21s fell to defeat in their latest Premier League 2 clash.
Leeds United Under-21s were unable to avenge their senior teammates after losing 5-2 at Sunderland on Monday evening.
Scott Gardner’s side travelled up to the North East looking to bounce back from their previous Premier League 2 clash which resulted in a 3-1 defeat to West Ham. Illan Meslier was involved in that game last month but highly-regarded youngster Rory Mahady made his return in the North East.
The Scottish goalkeeper was part of a Leeds side who endured a difficult night, conceding five times at the Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground. The young Whites did show resilience, however, scoring twice in 11 second-half minutes after going 3-0 down.
Captain Alfie Cresswell scored Leeds’ first goal of the night to make it 3-1 on the hour-mark, meeting Rhys Chadwick’s back-post cross after a typically pinpoint pass from Jayden Lienou. Forward Harvey Vincent then rose highest to head home a corner and fuel hope of a comeback.
But Sunderland gathered themselves to regain their two-goal lead swiftly, with a fifth Black Cats goal coming in added-time to end the contest. Gardner’s side are back in Premier League 2 action next Monday when they welcome Tottenham Hotspur to the LNER Community Stadium.
“There were just some young, naive decisions at times, but fair play to the players because they could have wilted at 3-0, but they got themselves back in the game,” head coach Gardner said. “I thought maybe at the start of the second half Sunderland were on top, but other than that I thought the game was quite even.
“I'm really pleased when you look at the players who were coming on, we had a lot of young lads who didn’t look out of place and made good accounts of themselves. The message is just to get the basics right, some of the simple bits, not the difficult bits, which is where we're at, at the minute. And then get a bit of confidence from there and go again.”