DAWSON HITS TREBLE AT GLENAVON

DAWSON HITS TREBLE AT GLENAVON

United put five past Northern Ireland side…

A Leeds XI side led by Neil Redfearn travelled to Glenavon on Wednesday in a friendly tie that formed part of Robbie McDaid’s United contract when he signed earlier this year.

The United side included a number of first team players and it was Chris Dawson that stole the show.

The United youngster, who has made one senior appearance, netted a hat-trick against the Northern Ireland side in what Neil Redfearn called a "total football" performance.

It was Dawson that opened the scoring in the 19th minute when he struck a low drive from outside the box. United were leading by one goal at the halfway point but it only took two second half minutes for Dawson to strike again with a fantastic individual effort.

The young midfielder completed his treble in the 64th minute from the penalty spot after Matt Smith was brought down in the box.

Smith then got on the scoresheet with a trademark header from an Alex Mowatt cross and Eoghan Stokes completed the five-goal rout.

Another plus for United was that Mowatt completed his first 90 minutes of pre-season as he stepped up his return to action.

Academy manager and head of coaching Neil Redfearn said: “We beat Glenavon 5-0 and it was an outstanding performance. The majority of our side were Academy players.

“It has been five hard years graft as the manager of the Academy that has come to fruition.

“Chris Dawson was the outstanding player on the night and he is someone I’ve believed in for a long time now.

“All the seniors played their part in a total football performance.”

United: Kenny, Berardi (Booker), Killock (Coker), Skelton (Swan), Taylor, Philips (Cook), Purver (Denton), Mowatt, Dawson, Smith, Poleon (Stokes).

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