Leeds United’s Under-18s coach Mark Jackson has praised his players and the sizeable away support after the young side lost 1-0 to Manchester United in the FA Youth Cup.
Underdogs Leeds put in a battling, spirited performance at Old Trafford, with the likes of Stuart McKinstry and Nohan Kenneh catching the eye with impressive individual displays.
Despite the collective effort from the visitors, Manchester United’s Ajax academy graduate Dillon Hoogewerf made the difference on the day with a well-placed header midway through the second half.
“To use that word proud is an understatement,” said Jackson on LUTV.
“I’m extremely proud of them, delighted for them that they’ve got experience of playing on this stage, putting in the performance that they put in tonight.
“But from one to eleven, and even the squad members and everybody that wasn’t in there, they absolutely worked tirelessly to get that result and never let their desire to keep working and keep fighting, keep putting Manchester United under pressure, right until the final whistle.
“It’s great to see the future of Leeds United is good.”
Around 1,400 Leeds fans made the trip and were in fine voice for the youth cup match, with one of the academy’s recent success stories Jamie Shackleton seen leading chants from the sold-out allocation.
Jackson praised the fans for their support, adding that it was a great experience for the latest crop of talented youngster’s to get experience of that.
“We don’t get that enough in academy football, they can sometimes be sheltered a little bit,” he added.
“We try and push our players, we try and expose our players, whether that be playing up in age groups or training with the first team.
“Some of the players have not played in front of fans like that before and probably not tasted what the Leeds fans are like.
“From my point of view as a coach and on behalf of the players, I’d like to thank those fans and also the parents that have come to support the players.
“Big thank you from us, it’s really really appreciate it. The players deserve that and the fans deserve the performance that they gave today, whole-hearted and committed.”
