Leeds United boss Daniel Farke loves a hostile football ground
Leeds United Under-21s were eliminated from the Vertu Trophy on Tuesday but star striker Harry Gray’s hot-streak continued.
Leeds United Under-21s striker Harry Gray showed off his senior credentials with a brace in Tuesday’s 3-2 Vertu Trophy defeat at Accrington Stanley.
Gray and his Under-21 teammates travelled to the Wham Stadium for their final Vertu Trophy group stage game last night, having lost previous meetings with Fleetwood Town and Port Vale. And the young Whites were unable to finish their campaign on a high despite going ahead early on against the League Two outfit.
Leeds were ahead inside three minutes when the alert Gray intercepted a poor back pass before rounding goalkeeper James Rogerson and finishing into an empty net. Scott Gardner’s side were then pinned back for large parts of the first-half but had opportunities to create on the counter-attack.
The away side’s task in keeping hold of their lead was made even harder just before half-time when Reuben Lopata-White was shown a red card for an off the ball incident. But Leeds at least managed to get to half-time with their one-goal advantage intact.
Accrington continued to push for an equaliser but were made to wait until the 68th minute by a battling young Leeds side before levelling. Gray even had a chance to make it 2-0 shortly before but after racing through one-v-one, his effort was well saved by goalkeeper Rogerson.
Ten minutes after equalising, Accrington took the lead through an unfortunate Ollie Pickles own goal and made it 3-1 on 81 minutes to virtually end the contest. Gray still had a chance to make an impression against senior opponents and grabbed his second of the game just before full-time, finishing calmly after some good work from Pickles.
Defeat leaves Leeds bottom of their Vertu Trophy group with three defeats from three but plenty of lessons learned against established English Football League opposition. Tuesday was also another example of Gray holding his own against experienced, senior defenders.
Another step towards the Leeds United first-team for Harry Gray
The 17-year-old’s red-hot start to the season is showing no sign of slowing down and in scoring twice against Accrington, he added to an impressive hat-trick against National League side Scunthorpe in September. Alongside that, the teenager also has five goals in six Premier League 2 appearances which is at U21-level.
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That form saw Gray rewarded with a first professional contract last month, just weeks after he turned 17, the length of which Leeds opted not to disclose. And while Accrington are a long way off the Premier League outfits his senior teammates are facing, that brace takes him another step closer towards Daniel Farke’s side.
“Just break into the first team and score goals in the Premier League, that’s it really,” Gray told LUTV when asked for his season ambitions after signing that contract. “I think I can definitely do it but it is just when my chance comes, I have got to be able to take it and gain everyone’s trust.
“I definitely always believed in myself that I would play for Leeds. I have always wanted to do that but still got a long way to go. I have supported Leeds for as long as I know and went to all the games and stuff, but now I get to kind of live everyone’s dream as a fan and a player at the same time, there is nothing better.”
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