Leeds United U23s' latest Premier League 2 Division 1 outing ended in disappointment and defeat as the young Whites were downed 4-0 by Blackburn Rovers at the Lancashire FA County Ground.
A silver lining to defeat across the Pennines was a late debut off the bench for January addition Mateo Joseph.
The Spanish centre-forward replaced Max Dean late on for Mark Jackson's side, but could do little do reduce the arrears in his 10-minute cameo.
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Nonetheless, Joseph displayed energy and intensity off the substitutes' bench, closing down Blackburn's centre-backs with vim and vigour.
The 18-year-old has spent the majority of this month working on his physical development up at the club's Thorp Arch training centre, in a bid to reach the desired fitness levels to represent Leeds United.
Speaking after the match, Mark Jackson spoke of Joseph's key attributes having worked with the young striker at close quarters for a couple of weeks.
"He's got good physical attributes, his finishing's very good - we've seen him in a few finishing drills and a few other drills that we work on so he looks like he can finish as well.
"His movement's good and like I said we're just getting to know each other at the minute."
Joseph is also eligible for the U18 side, Jackson revealed, meaning he has the opportunity to get further matches and valuable minutes under his belt between now and the end of the season.
"He's getting to know his teammates, he's getting to know the club but everything's going along nicely. We fully expect him to integrate into the group.
"He's eligible for the 18s as well, so if that means him getting game-time down with them, when their games come about again then we'll utilise that but he'll be working with the 23s group predominantly and he'll continue his integration," Jackson finished.
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