Match Review: Leeds United U18s 0-6 Manchester United U18s
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Ethan Wheatley and Jack Fletcher (son of Darren) celebrating a goal from new-signing Jack.
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It was a very open game in this most famous of Lancashire v Yorkshire rivalries, but United fans will be delighted to see that the Reds came out on top in a storming victory away at Thorp Arch Grange - home to the Leeds training centre.
Promising winger Shea Lacey almost opened the scoring in the 5th minute following a darting run down the left wing, but disappointingly hit his shot straight at the keeper for an easy save.
Two minutes later and Jack Fletcher tried to ping a shot top left corner from the edge of the box, but it was Jayce Fitzgerald who opened the rout with a beautiful curling effort that went top right and past the full-stretched arms of the Leeds keeper, Rory Mahady.
By the time Malachi Sharpe bagged United's 2nd goal, those on the sidelines will have been surprised Manchester United weren't already 4 or 5 goals up, but the setup is worth shouting about. A good switch of play from Fitzgerald, ala Christian Eriksen, out wide right to Shea Lacey. A jink of the foot and the starlet had a yard of space to dash past the Leeds left-back and swing a cross in for Sharpe to lunge and hit home on the volley.
Leeds fought their way back into the game briefly at the end of the first half and were unlucky not to peg one back with a headed effort just skimming over the bar, but that momentum was lost at half time.
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Malachi Sharpe running at the Leeds box before scoring his 2nd goal.
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Jack Fletcher made it 3-0 shortly after the break with a close-range finish, before Sharpe scored his 2nd in the 60th - a brilliant battle and surge into the right hand side of the box, brushing off his marker, and fizzing a shot over the keeper's head at near post into the roof of the net.
To round out the victory Wheatley bagged a scuffed shot in the 68th minute, and Amass scored in the 72nd minute after a long ball that the Leeds defence failed to win in the air fell neatly into his path for a calm finish past keeper Mahady.
A good win for the Reds in a game where their energy, determination, and quality saw Leeds brushed aside in seemingly all the duels across the pitch. Despite the score this wasn't a walkover, but with a bit more maturity and experience of when to pass and when to be greedy... this game could have been double figures to the Devils.
