‘Very pleased’… Daniel Farke names the two Leeds fringe players who really impressed him vs Plymouth

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Daniel Farke made a few changes to his Leeds United side for last night’s FA Cup victory at Plymouth Argyle.

Liam Cooper, Mateo Joseph, Joel Piroe and Jaidon Anthony were among the players who have not started in the league much recently to come in, as Leeds eventually ran out 4-1 winners after 120 minutes of football on the night.

It was the strength in depth which told in the end as they scored three unanswered goals in extra-time, with the tired bodies of Plymouth simply unable to handle the fresh legs of Leeds’ attackers.

That said, Leeds should have almost certainly had the tie wrapped up in normal time, striking the woodwork on three separate occasions through Joseph, Piroe and substitute Joe Gelhardt.

It was good to see both Joseph and Gelhardt looking extremely comfortable in the team last night, given it was the former’s first start of the season, and the latter’s first since August.

Farke praises Gelhardt and Joseph displays

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Daniel Farke spoke about how pleased he was with the impact of both players and believes they more than used their chances to shine.

He said: “Very pleased with both. Mateo had to wait a long time for a start. Did really well to create a chance in the first half, hit the crossbar. Good performance, linked the play. Invested a lot, Pleased for Mateo.

“Joffy had to wait long, but had a good impact in the second half. Used their chances to shine. Would have been better with goals.”

Joseph is a player who Farke, and those behind-the-scenes rate really highly at Leeds, but he just has not had the game time to show what he can do. One minute substitute appearances here and there aren’t enough.

However, last night he really showed what he can offer. He was hugely unlucky not to open his account for the club in the first half as he saw an effort tipped onto the bar, but his all round striker’s attributes were also impressive.

Gelhardt, meanwhile, looked really sharp when he came off the bench. His shot that crashed against the post in added time was desperately unlucky not to go in, and he may have proven to Farke again he can be an option in the league now.