Premier League Cup

Charlton U21 1 (McMillan 20’)

Leeds United U21 0

Charlton: Hardy (GK), Brown (C), Valentine, Belton, Minto-St Aimie, Elliott, Reid, Safa (Washington-Amoah 73’), Burnham, McMillan, McNamee-Burke (Davis 73’). Subs not used: Lapper (GK), Thomas, Mylona, Rayment-Dawkins, Tiitinen.

Leeds: Mahady (GK), Vincent, Lienou, Howard (Lane 75’), Philpott, Enahoro-Marcus, Alker (Render 85’), Pickles (C), Njinko, Chadwick, McDonald. Subs not used: Kenyon (GK), White, Mensah, Matykiewicz.

Venue: Princes Park | Referee: Tommy Breen | Booked: Burnham, Reid, Belton (Charlton) Howard (Leeds)

Leeds United Under-21s fell to a narrow Premier League Cup defeat away from home against Charlton Athletic Under-21s in their second fixture of the competition.

After beginning their Group I campaign with a goalless draw against Stoke City, Scott Gardner’s side started the encounter in Dartford on the front foot and would have opened the scoring if not for a fine save by George Hardy.

Sam Alker latched onto a finely threaded pass and charged into the area, forcing a superb diving intervention by the Addicks stopper with Josh McDonald unable to convert the rebound.

The hosts went close themselves when Reuben Reid twisted and turned down the left, crossing dangerously for Shia-Lee Burnham who struck high and wide of Rory Mahady’s goal.

Charlton took the lead after 20 minutes through Ellis McMillan. The attacker received the ball on the edge of the area and worked a yard of space before firing a powerful drive into the top corner.

Looking for a response, Wales international Jayden Lienou raced onto a pass and arrowed a rasping effort from distance which cannoned off a red shirt and looped narrowly over the upright, before the London outfit cleared the resulting corner kick.

Great positioning allowed skipper Ollie Pickles to make a crucial block to smother McMillan’s close range attempt, allowing Leeds to break.

Louie Philpott drove to the byline and crossed looking for Carrick Njinko but Hardy was out early to collect, in the final action of an attritional opening period.

HALF TIME: Charlton Athletic U21 1-0 Leeds United U21

The Whites emerged from the break unchanged as they searched for a leveller in their second Premier League Cup encounter. Mahady’s services were called upon early, clutching Reid’s speculative attempt.

Then, Pickles was on hand to throw himself in front of another McMillan shot as Gardner’s side had to withstand a spell of Charlton pressure in the second half’s opening stages.

Approaching the hour mark, Leeds began to enjoy a larger spell of possession but found playing their free-flowing football difficult to execute, no doubt owed to a heavy pitch underfoot as a result of the recent weather conditions. Njinko did have a brief sight of goal, seeing a powerful strike charged down by a red shirt.

With the encounter beginning to open up, Reid attempted to double the hosts’ advantage with a curling effort which was parried away well by the diving Mahady.

As United began to pile bodies forward in the hunt to restore parity, the Addicks broke down the left. Nehmani McNamee-Burke accelerated on the left flank and crossed dangerously into the middle. Burnham stooped to meet but powered his header wide.

The visitors came desperately close to equalising when midfielder Rhys Chadwick flashed an enticing delivery across the face of goal. Alker was at full-stretch to attack the ball however he couldn’t quite manage to find the back of the net, rattling the crossbar.

After Mahady had made a series of sublime saves to deny Charlton a second, a first change from the United bench introduced Freddie Lane into the action, replacing Jacob Howard in an attack-minded switch.

The lively Alker then made way for Jacob Render late on and the Whites went desperately close to levelling matters moments later as Njinko reacted first to latch onto a loose ball though lashed over from a narrow angle.

Despite the late pressure, including a Harvey Vincent header that flashed wide, a stubborn Charlton defence stood firm until the full-time whistle sounded, with four Premier League Cup group stage fixtures remaining.

FULL TIME: Charlton Athletic U21 1-0 Leeds United U21