U18 Premier League North
Leeds United U18 3 (White 11’, 71’; Ibrovic-Fletcher 47’)
Leicester City U18 1 (Fletcher 19’)
Leeds: Wood (GK), Walker, Balmer, Whitehead (Heywood 75’), Megson, Chambers, Ibrovic-Fletcher, Bhaskaran (C), Bennett (Morrall 80’), Mensah, White (Stockton 75’). Subs not used: Banks, Bridge, Watson, Hitchen.
Leicester: Lawrence (GK), Simons (C), Govan, Manyumba, Dignum, Jacklin, Colangelo-Allen (Quinn 59’), Holmes, Fletcher, Szembel (Machaka 82’), Owusu (Irene 82’). Subs not used: Peter, Swan.
Venue: Thorp Arch | Referee: Louie Parker | Booked: Szembel (Leicester)
A brace from in-form forward Logan White and a great Edward Ibrovic-Fletcher solo effort saw Leeds United Under-18s return to winning ways with a convincing three-one win against Leicester City Under-18s at Thorp arch.
White continued his rich vein of goalscoring form which has seen the attacker net in every game to date this campaign, with the double taking his tally to six in five under Rob Etherington!
The forward netted the opener after just 11 minutes, linking up well with Kenneth Mensah and playing fast pass-and-move football to work their way into the Foxes’ penalty area. This led to 17-year-old finding room and opening himself up for the shot before expertly lifting the ball over the goalkeeper to give the hosts a deserved lead.
In the 19th minute, though, the visitors struck back. An array of chances for the Whites were not put away, with at least three shots being cleared off the Leicester City goal line.
The visitors then counter-attacked and Rollo Szembel found himself clear of the Leeds back line before selflessly squaring to Jake Fletcher, who rolled the ball into an empty net to bring the score to one-all.
The equaliser settled City, who began to manage the intense United press with a bit more composure. The next 20 minutes did not see too much action within either penalty box, with the best chance following the goals coming from Joe Bhaskaran who picked the ball up 25-yards and rattled the crossbar.
HALF TIME: Leeds United U18 1-1 Leicester City U18
The second half saw Leeds go back ahead nearly immediately as Ibrovic-Fletcher took advantage of Leicester City’s defence failing to clear their lines.
He got the ball inside the box and moved into a shooting opportunity with some really tricky footwork, beating two men before rolling the ball into the bottom left corner, bringing the scoreline to 2-1.
The third goal, and White’s second, came in the 71st minute with Mensah involved again. This time he pulled the ball back to Bhaskaran, who fired a shot across goal. It looked for all money like it was heading for a goal kick but White was in the perfect position at the far post to redirect the effort into the back of the net to make sure the three points were staying in West Yorkshire.
In between this, Ibrovic-Fletcher had an incredible solo effort denied by Henry Lawrence in the City goal. The young forward drove into the right of the box before the keeper parried the powerful shot onto the post and away from danger.
Oliver Wood in the Leeds goal also played his part, making a handful of strong saves to keep Leicester limited to just the one goal.
The game began to break down nearer the end, with Leeds happy in the lead and Leicester struggling to strike back. Following back-to-back corners for United, referee Louie Parker brought the game to a close.
FULL TIME: Leeds United U18 3-1 Leicester City U18
