View: 91% pass accuracy, 4 blocks – Leeds 20yo deserves another shot after Crawley horror show
Leeds United had a weekend to forget against Crawley and youngster Oliver Casey got a lot of flak after coming on at half-time with the score at 0-0.
He looked out of his depth, as he did in the EFL Cup game against Hull City. However, he also showed some positives and we think he deserves another chance in the side.
Marcelo Bielsa decided to trust several young players in the Crawley defeat, with some making their mark – such as Ian Poveda – while others struggled.
Half-time substitutes Oliver Casey and Jack Jenkins fall in the latter category following WhoScored ratings of 6.45 and 6.07, although the former did show some useful skills.
It is true that the Whites conceded all three goals while the 20-year-old was on the pitch, but the defender prevented the home side scoring even more.
One brilliant sliding block to stop Max Watters in his tracks showed a tremendous amount of determination and commitment to the cause, an aspect of Leeds’ game that was missing throughout.
In total the centre-back managed four blocks in just 45 minutes, three more than any of his teammates.
That includes Kalvin Phillips, who even occupied a centre-back role, and it was the stand-in Leeds skipper who was partly to blame for the opening goal, rather than Casey.
Crawley’s Nick Tsaroulla breezed past Phillips far too easily, while Casey could do little about Kiko Casilla’s error for goal number two, or the third strike which came from a set-piece following a poor Phillips header.
The young defender also managed to win more duels than Liam Cooper, who he replaced at half-time, so he may have left a notable impression on Bielsa.
To make his way into the first-team, however, Casey will need to prove he is an accomplished ball-player.
A return of 91% pass accuracy in difficult conditions at Crawley suggests he could be up to that task, and he should improve in that department if he begins playing with more experienced players.
That being said, Casey failed to organise the defence and Cooper’s absence was sorely felt as a result.
The same failure occurred in the League Cup defeat against Hull, when Casey’s 6.1 WhoScored rating led to him being hauled off at half-time.
The likes of Cooper and Phillips have a lot to teach Casey, therefore, but Casey can only learn lessons by getting more minutes for the first-team.
In other Leeds United news, many fans were left fuming at one player after his sub-par performance on Sunday.