Leeds United's plucky under-23 side visited Leigh Sports Village on Saturday afternoon, hoping to arrest their recent winless run.
They were faced with the task of navigating a route past £20 million attacker Amad Diallo, Sweden U21 international Anthony Elanga and various other talented individuals in the Manchester United U23 ranks.
Despite dominating for large periods, the team were defeated by two Amad goals and an assist by the Ivorian, succumbing to an eventual 3-2 defeat.
Separately, questions were asked before kick-off regarding the absence of midfielder Lewis Bate, who has impressed with the U23 squad recently.
Bate has played around a dozen matches under Mark Jackson since signing for a reported £1.2 million in the summer.
The ex-Chelsea teenager, who recently turned 19, usually features at the base of the young Whites' midfield, but was absent today along with newest Premier League debutants Cody Drameh, Joe Gelhardt and Charlie Cresswell.
After the 3-2 defeat, Jackson was questioned on the reason for Bate's absence by LeedsLive.
"Lewis is fit and well," he said. "He's trained with the first-team back at Thorp Arch today so he was unavailable for us today for selection.
"He's a player who's been performing well for us in the 23s and he's been training well as well, so he's training with the first-team today so we'll see what comes of that."
Bate's involvement with the first-team group today, coupled with the proximity to tomorrow's Premier League fixture against Leicester City suggests the youngster may be in Marcelo Bielsa's thoughts for a place on the bench at Elland Road.
If that is to be the case, it would be the first time Bate has been named a substitute for Leeds in a Premier League fixture, somewhat vindicating his decision to leave Chelsea in July, in search of a clearer pathway to senior football.
The youngster was an unused substitute on three occasions for Chelsea's first-team: against Bayern Munich and Sheffield United in 2020, as well as an FA Cup fixture versus Barnsley in Feburary this year.
Recap the Whites' narrow defeat to Manchester United U23s here with our player ratings.
