Match Recap: Leeds United u21s 6-2 Southampton u21s

With the much-anticipated trip to Old Trafford postponed this weekend, fans packed into Elland Road to watch the Leeds United under-21s for their football fix. They also got to see senior layers; Luke Ayling, Patrick Bamford, Liam Cooper, Junior Firpo and new signing, Wily Gnonto feature.

The home side didn’t take long to get the ball rolling, as Patrick Bamford opened the scoring inside five minutes. Ayling found Bamford dropping deep from his striker position, allowing Summerville to make a darting run in behind. Bamford picked him out with an excellent first-time pass, and the flying Dutchman returned the favour with a perfect ball back across goal where Bamford was waiting to unleash a fierce strike into the goal off the underside of the bar.

Summerville grabbed a goal for himself on 17 minutes, making it look easy as he drifted into the box with little challenge before drilling a low strike into the bottom right corner.

Summerville then had a hand in the third goal, winning a penalty for Bamford to take, who dispatched the spot-kick into the bottom right corner on the 35-minute mark.

But it wasn’t just the Bamford & Summerville show, as Captain Liam Cooper got in on the action ahead of the half-time whistle. He met Archie Gray’s corner-kick with a looping header to put Leeds 4-0 up going into the break.

But it was back to the dynamic duo in the second half as Patrick Bamford secured his hattrick on 52 minutes. Summerville once again nipped in and won possession in midfield before driving forward under no challenge. He slipped Bamford in on the right channel, and the England international beat the goalkeeper once again.

Just a few minutes later, PL2D2 Player of the Month, Sonny Perkins grabbed himself a goal in front of the Elland Road crowd, winning the ball high up the pitch before whipping a low strike around the keeper and into the bottom right corner.

Perhaps The Whites could’ve kept pushing, but Southampton ended up pegging two goals back in the final twenty minutes. Considering the senior players involved for Leeds, it will have been a tough night for them.

But from a Leeds perspective, we got to see Gnonto show some promise, Bamford get back on the scoresheet, and Liam Cooper gain more minutes.