Ormskirk and Maghull v Leeds 'B' Tuesday 18th November
It was a long journey across the M62 for the Leeds boys to play a friendly against Ormskirk and Maghull at the impressive Walton facilities., the pitch in great condition although it was huge !
The early exchanges saw neither side dominate although a great ¾ length pitch run & shot from Kristian Smith came close.
Good work down the right saw Jack Carr & George Hamnett both win corners but the home defence were solid & cleared both easily.
The break came halfway into the 1st half when a pass from Oscar Turnbull found Ryan Bedford down the left. His pinpoint cross landed at the feet of Jack Cooper who stood up well and calmly shot past the advancing keeper into the bottom corner. 0-1
This spurred on the home team, and minutes later a bad failing by the Leeds defence was almost punished as the striker shot over the head of keeper Nick Myers into the back of the net. Luck was on the Leeds side though as it was disallowed for a shove by the striker.
The home team continued to push & the Leeds defence held solid with good work from Lawrence Wilson in the centre.
With a minute of the half remaining a Matty Booth free kick on the edge of his own area found Ryan Bedford on the halfway. His superb back heel sent Callum Barron charging down the left with 2 defenders in hot pursuit. As they closed in & the keeper came out, his left foot shot was just caught by the keeper but had enough pace for it to trickle over the line - great end to the half. 0-2
The 2nd half saw the introduction of 11 sets of new legs from the away team although Leeds brought on 4 substitutes as well.
It started much the same way as the 1st half with plenty of battling through the midfield but few chances created.
Mitch Pattinson looked lively down the left, linking up well with Ben Hinchcliffe to create a few shooting chances but the home team keeper was in fine form pulling off a couple of good saves.
The Leeds defence came under greater pressure this half & the 2nd half substitutes Todd Thackray & Adam Drake were more than up to the challenge leaving goalie Ross Mckenna with little to do, although one long range shot brought out a great save.
Matty Wheeler battled valiantly up front but nothing was going his way today as the home team defence were a close unit.
Leeds finally won the match when a Jack Carr shot from down the right was parried by the keeper & the ball fell to Kristian Smith who shot home from 6 yards. 0-3
Another good team effort from the Leeds side & they can take plenty of positives into the league game against Barnsley at the weekend - lets keep the roll going boys !