Mark Smith

Wed 5 February 2020 21:07, UK

By Mark Smith at Old Trafford

Leeds United under-18s travelled to Old Trafford on Wednesday evening, looking to progress past the FA Youth Cup fifth round.

The young Whites were looking to replicate the memorable victory from almost 30 years ago, when a young Leeds side beat a Red Devils squad filled with the class of 92.

Mark Jackson named a number of under-23 regulars in his side, with Charlie Cresswell, Jack Jenkins and Nohan Kenneh all starting.

It went into the break goalless with both sides having one big chance to open the scoring. Jenkins was through on goal but instead of shooting he decided to try go round the keeper – it was a bad call.

Manchester United took the lead midway into the second half, Dillon Hoogewerf heading home from the middle of the box.

Henri Kumwenda saw red for two yellow cards towards the end of the clash, as it started to unravel for the Whites.

Here are our MOT Leeds News player ratings from the 1-0 defeat…

Cooper Skerry – 7
This was his reward for the heroics against Sheffield Wednesday in the previous round. He made a cracking save towards the end of the first half. His distribution was also superb and very reminiscent of Illan Meslier against Arsenal.

Aaron Pilkington – 7
Looks a very tidy player. Pilkington got about his defensive work very well and often looked to get forward – something that was successful the majority of the time.

Charlie Cresswell – 8
Another commanding performance. Cresswell stepped ahead of his man with ease at times to intercept and earn possession back for the Whites. He won almost every single one of his aerial battles, meaning there wasn’t the usual threat of conceding from set-pieces like there is in the first-team.

Kris Moore – 7
Very confident next to Cresswell. We haven’t seen much of Moore, but he justified his selection. The young defender was solid, his long-range passing also impressive when in possession.

Dane Burlace – 6
Most of the home side’s pressure was from the opposite side. Burlace had a quiet evening, something he will have been pleased with. It’s sometimes better not to be in the headlines than create them.

Nohan Kenneh – 7
Can look slow at times but once in the highest gear he is nearly impossible to stop. He had the task of marking the Red Devils’ best players and kept him relatively quiet despite the referee’s best efforts to turn that around by giving soft fouls consistently.

Jack Jenkins – 7
Should have opened the scoring, no excuses. He never stopped running and that would have been his reward. Putting a halt to the midfield three of the home side was vital, and Jenkins was once again superb in the heart of the side.

Cole Gibbon – 5
One of the quietest in midfield. Gibbon was soft at times, and let defenders run past him far too easily opening dangerous spaces for the home side to exploit at Old Trafford.

Stuart McKinstry – 8
The standout performer once again for the Whites. The Scottish winger made a number of quality runs forward, with his slick touches causing constant problems for his opposing man.

Niklas Haugland – 6
Much better from the winger. We weren’t impressed with Haugland after the stepped up to the under-23s, but tonight was much better. He wasn’t afraid to get at his man and often had the better of the right-back.

Henri Kumwenda – 6
Some of the Premier League’s top clubs are sniffing around Kunwenda, and in snippets he showed why. The young forward had great pace and found pockets of space in the final third quite easily. He lacked support at times though, and wasn’t the best defensively. A red card tainted his performance, but he can hold his head high after this one.

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