Leeds United’s under-21s were beaten 3-0 by Bolton on Tuesday in their second Papa John’s Trophy clash.
The Whites were largely excellent up against League One opposition. They certainly asked the greater number of questions going forward. And a number of the players showed that they can compete against a very good side. However, the scoreline tells a very, very different story.
With that in mind, here are our player ratings following the game…
Joel Robles – 7
The goalkeeper performed well on his first appearance for Leeds. He could do nothing about the opening Bolton goal. And he made some smart saves. A decent first showing for the Spaniard – though he may be a little disappointed with the home side’s second goal. Unlucky to be beaten three times.
Cody Drameh – 7
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It was a quiet evening for Drameh with Leeds seemingly prioritising the left flank with their attacks. He will perhaps be a little disappointed to have not been able to make more of an impact. But he did improve after the break.
Morten Spencer – 6
The youngster is still finding his way as a centre-back. He deserves credit for some of the work he did. But there were some shaky moments in both halves.
James Debayo – 6
Debayo started at centre-back alongside Spencer before moving to left-back. He looked more than comfortable which is extremely impressive given the quality of the opposition.
Kris Moore – 7
Moore stepped into the left-back role initially following the serious injury sustained by Harvey Sutcliffe. It was not too long until a switch was made. His ability and composure on the ball is very underrated.
Darko Gyabi – 6
Gyabi was not able to pull the strings as easily as he often does. But he never panics on the ball despite often coming under immediate pressure when he got into possession.
Alfie McCalmont – 6
McCalmont was arguably the quietest of the front six, particularly during the first-half. But he is absolutely a class act. Obviously, he was no stranger to the level he needed to be at up against League One opposition.
Sonny Perkins – 7
Perkins was coming deeper to get onto the ball. His confidence in possession is so encouraging to see. And he so nearly produced a world-class pass on a couple of occasions.
Sean McGurk – 8
McGurk’s first-half display evoked memories of Patrick Bamford’s showing against Arsenal on Sunday. He did absolutely everything right and made some brilliant runs beyond Mateo Joseph. However, he was unable to take the good opportunities he found himself with.
There was one audacious nutmeg in the second-half before he was replaced by Max Dean.
Charlie Allen – 7
Allen was not afraid to try and make things happen out on the left wing. He gave the side real width in the final third. Some of his more ambitious passes did not come off. But he was another who kept trying to make things happen.
Mateo Joseph – 8
It is hard to not be seriously excited about Joseph’s potential. Some of the touches were sublime. And the quickness of his feet is scary at times. He nearly opened the scoring with a brilliant effort inside two minutes. The biggest compliment you can pay is to suggest he looked like a first-team player dropping down to the side for game-time.
Max Dean – 6
Typical Max Dean display when he came on. He was combative and tenacious. Was frustrated when he did not take a chance inside the box.