U18 Premier League North
Leeds United U18 4 (Mensah 13’ 78’, Morris 21’, Bhaskaran 90’)
Wolverhampton Wanderers U18 1 (Ford 68’)
Leeds: Wood, Dudley, Philpott, Whitehead, Hamilton, Watson, Njinko (Bhaskaran), Alker (Bridge), Morris (c) (Stockton), Thompson, Mensah (Bennett). Subs not used: Woolfrey.
Wolves: Arnold, Dayman (Saba), Nolan-Ruddock (Ford), Stafford (c), Aneke, Abbey, Oduor, Senyah, Wilcox, Gonzales-Osbourne, Anunlopo. Subs not used: Trinder, Jackson, Thomas.
Referee: Ashton Wroe
Booked: Dudley, Hamilton (Leeds)
Venue: Thorp Arch
Leeds United Under-18s turned a near perfect first half into a dominant 4-1 victory thanks to goals from Jack Morris and Joseph Bhaskaran, as well as a brace from Kenneth Mensah.
The young Whites started impressively, dominating possession and having early chances down either wing, exploiting the space left on the bylines by Wolves. They then took a deserved lead after 13-minutes when the ball was worked down the right and into the box.
From there, the ball fell to Aiden Thompson and he struck an effort goalwards only to be denied on the line. However, the clearance fell to Mensah and he opened the scoring by tucking the ball calmly into the bottom left corner.
Wolves then had an immediate opportunity to equalise but could not get a shot on target from just inside the Leeds box thanks to pressure from the defence.
Then, in the 21st minute, Leeds doubled their lead when Morris finished a brilliant move from close range with a smart first-time effort past the Wolves ‘keeper.
In the build-up, Joshua Hamilton played a defence-splitting ball through to Thompson who was free in the right of the opponents’ box, he controlled and played it across to Morris from the touchline. Morris did the rest and Rob Etherington’s side had their second!
As mentioned, it was a near perfect half, marred only by a penalty miss from Morris after Carrick Njinko was fouled in the box when challenging for a high ball played through by Loui Whitehead. The penalty was well saved by goalkeeper Alfie Arnold, who got a strong hand to the shot down to his left, pushing the ball away for a corner.
That was the last notable moment of the first half, with the home side controlling the tempo and dominating possession for the majority of play.
HALF TIME: Leeds United U18 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
The second half was much different from the first, with Leeds sitting deeper under much more intense pressure from the visiting Wolves.
Oliver Wood was called into action on multiple occasions but was not forced into making any extraordinary stops. However, that changed in the 68th minute when Wolves finally got a goal back, after Wood’s parried save fell to Hayden Ford who finished high into the net to make it 2-1.
Leeds were then under immense pressure but held out, not allowing the visitors to find a leveller. On the 80-minute mark, Aiden Thompson capped off an exceptional performance by starting, and assisting, a wonderful move.
He beat the Wolves press with a smart turn and set Carrick Njinko free down the right wing. Thompson then received the return ball and played a lofted ball across to an arriving Mensah who headed in for his second and Leeds’ third of the match.
Although the two-goal lead had been restored, the Whites were not done there! Substitute Joseph Bhaskaran worked tirelessly to overturn possession on the edge of the visitors’ box before driving forward and finding Thomas Stockton.
He looked up to see his shot saved but Bhaskaran had continued his run and powerfully buried the parried effort into the left of the goal, with a shot from the edge of the six-yard box.
It was a strong win for the Etherington’s side, who saw his team holding their nerve under a lot of pressure in the second half, but regroup and go on to claim an impressive three points.
FULL TIME: Leeds United U18 4-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
