Match Recap: Tranmere Rovers 4-1 Leeds United u21s

Leeds United under-21s suffered defeat in their first of three away trips in the Papa John’s EFL Trophy at the hands of Tranmere Rovers.

The young Whites started well, pushing Tranmere high up the pitch and gaining their fair share of possession. But it all went wrong one seven minutes with Tranmere’s first attack as Clark pushed forward from the back-line before slipping Maynard through on the right channel, who fired the ball across goal, nestling into the bottom left corner.

The away side continued to push and dominate though, with Sean McGurk shining on the wing. The youngsters kept knocking on the door, with Tranmere defenders throwing themselves in front of everything the Leeds attack could muster, while Max Dean also had a goal disallowed for offside.

Tranmere’s patience paid off though, doubling their lead on 34 minutes as Foley headed in from a corner-kick to hand the EFL side a 2-0 lead against the run of play. Maynard grabbed his second and Tranmere’s third just before half-time as he was found on the right once again, slotting the ball across the keeper and into the net.

Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images

Just after the hour mark, the Leeds youth managed to grab one back as Gray turned his man brilliantly before sending Amari Miller through on goal, who duly finished one-on-one against the keeper to give Leeds sight in this match.

Tranmere reinstated their three-goal lead late-on though, as Foley scored once again from a corner-kick to ultimately end the EFL Trophy’s opener with a sour taste for the youngsters in all blue.