U18 Premier League North

Leeds United U18 1 (Bird 3’)

Blackburn Rovers U18 1 (Mansbridge 22’)

Leeds: Kenyon (GK), Firth, Bird, Cresswell (C), Howard, Hamilton (Simo 46’), Vincent, Whitehead, Boast (Morris 83’), Mills, White (Mensah 90’). Subs not used: Wood (GK), Philpott.

Blackburn: Wolsoncroft (GK), Leeming, Pates, Kelly-Quinn, Davies (C), Vare, Dlamini (Sergeant 77’), Mansbridge, Joseph, Potter (Farkas 68’), Leatherbarrow (Mullarkey-Matthews 68’). Subs not used: Shaw (GK), Thompson.

Venue: Thorp Arch

Referee: Adam Boubrahmi

Booked: Firth, Howard (Leeds) Kelley-Quinn (Blackburn)

Sent off: Bird (Leeds)

Points were shared at Thorp Arch between Leeds United Under-18s and Blackburn Rovers Under-18s on Saturday afternoon.

The Whites got the game underway in bright fashion, mirroring the weather as glorious sunshine beamed down in West Yorkshire.

Striker Oliver Boast displayed the high intensity of the home side early on, as a clever interception allowed him to break free of the Blackburn back four. Looking to guide his shot around Rovers’ Blake Wolsoncroft, the forward was denied by fingertips of the visiting goalkeeper.

Shortly afterwards, United did find an early breakthrough courtesy of Coban Bird’s left-footed strike from distance. Marauding his way into midfield, the left back capitalised on a lack of pressure to lash an effort which swerved away from Wolsoncroft, giving the hosts a well-deserved early lead!

The early pressure was maintained by Rob Etherington’s side as Boast tried his luck a minute later, driving a shot just wide of the far post and coming agonisingly close to extending the lead.

The tie settled after a frantic first 10 minutes with Rovers beginning to find their feet. Nathan Dlamini had the first sight of goal for the visitors after meeting Valentin Joseph’s cross, though his header was collected comfortably by an unstartled George Kenyon in the Leeds goal.

With half chances landing for Logan White and Boast at the 20-minute mark, the Whites were controlling the encounter's tempo and dominating possession.

That was until proceedings were levelled, against the run of play, as Tyler Mansbridge bundled the ball into the net following in a scramble inside the area.

The remainder of the first 45 would see a back-and-forth affair with both sides having strong chances to put themselves ahead.

Kenyon was first to deny Joseph with a fine save with his feet before, down the other end, Bird struck a low shot narrowly past the upright.

After a few stoppages in play, Josh Hamilton ensured the scoreline stayed the same going into the interval with a wonderful goalline clearance for the home side, heading the ball away from danger before the half-time whistled sounded.

HALF TIME: Leeds United U18 1-1 Blackburn Rovers U18

The sides emerged for the second period which was set to be a stop-start battle for the remainder of the tie. The first stoppage occurred in unfamiliar fashion when referee Adam Boubrahmi hit the deck, forcing a substitution amongst the match officials five minutes into the second half.

Etherington’s side were then reduced to 10 when a late challenge from Bird saw the defender receive his marching orders.

Despite the setback, Leeds were by no means restricted from creating positive chances. A looping White corner almost caught Wolsoncroft off-guard, with the keeper scurrying back onto his line to tip the ball onto the top of the bar, giving Rovers a lucky escape from going behind once more.

The remainder of the game saw some impressive defending by the Leeds backline with Jacob Howard coming to the rescue on a few occasions, making a number of crucial tackles to dispossess the lively Joseph.

Elton Simo, who had been introduced into the action at half-time, also filled in resolutely in defense, limiting the away side to little opportunities.

Kenyon then denied Harvey Pates and Dlamini’s attempts in the closing stages as Leeds hung on to a hard-earnt point, which was more than deserved as Etherington’s side displayed a strong-willed performance with plenty of positives to take from the tie.

FULL TIME: Leeds United U18 1-1 Blackburn Rovers U18