Leeds 1 (Pickles 81) Wolves 2 (C. McLeod 61, Carson 86)
Wolves under-18s won on the road for the second time in a week following a late victory at Leeds United on Wednesday afternoon.
After Conor McLeod had opened the scoring on the hour mark, Richard Walker’s side thought they may have to settle for a point following an Oliver Pickles leveller nine minutes from time. However, skipper Hayden Carson stepped up on 86 minutes to smash home from Caden Voice’s knockback to score his first goal of the season and ensure another three points in the U18 Premier League.
In what was a tight encounter throughout, Leeds conjured up the first opening of the afternoon as Harry Gray got to the byline and crossed for Harvey Vincent who cut back inside and forced Lewys Benjamin to tip over the top.
McLeod, who scored in Saturday’s 4-2 win at Liverpool, then had the first sighter for the Old Gold but could only fire a fierce shot over the crossbar.
Fraser Harper then saw his own effort deflected wide, before Joe Richards and Coban Bird combined for the hosts before the latter fired over from close range.
Half-time | Leeds 0-0 Wolves
Wolves started the second period the stronger side and after Harper had hit the side netting, Makenzie Bradbury took matters into his own hands by gliding through the middle and forcing George Kenyon into a low save.
At the other end, Benjamin was quickly out to thwart Lleyton Brown as the goalkeeper did well to save at the feet of the Leeds man.
The visitors pressed in numbers and won the ball back through Harper who played it through to Dani Angel, but the striker was superbly denied by Kenyon who stuck out a strong hand.
Wolves broke the deadlock shortly after the hour mark as McLeod tried his luck with a low effort from distance which crept into the corner, with Kenyon unable to keep the ball out despite getting a glove on it.
Walker’s side looked to wrap up the points with a second and almost did so, but McLeod was denied before substitute Finn Ashworth watched his follow-up go agonisingly wide.
And Leeds capitalised on that failure to score a second, as Pickles picked the ball up inside the penalty area and fired across Benjamin to level with nine to play.
However, Wolves have shown both quality and grit throughout the season, and their never-say-die came up trumps once again.
With four minutes left to play, Voice did well to keep a free-kick alive at the back post as he nodded the ball into an area where defensive partner Carson was waiting to pounce as he lashed into the net from close range to seal all three points.
The result means the team remain third and have confirmed a top four finish in the U18 PL with one more game to play this season, as Derby County visit Compton Park on Saturday morning.
Full-time | Leeds 1-2 Wolves
TEAMS
Leeds | Kenyon, Richards (Dudley 46), Bird, Toulson, Bellett, Cresswell, Vincent (Douglas 65), Pickles, Gray (McDonald 46), Brown (Morris 70), Lane.
Subs not used | Grainger.
Wolves | Benjamin, Igbinoghene, Carson, Bradbury, Voice, Reynolds, Ji, (Nyakudya 71) Rees (Ashworth 61), Angel, Harper, C. McLeod.
Subs not used | Hardy, Stevens, Mandey.
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Derby (H) 04/05
