Please don’t take the pizza away - The Square Ball 19/10/22

STILL HUNGRY

Written by: Rob Conlon

Leeds United’s Under-21s have been the richest source of fun at the club this season, and those of us living vicariously through the kids know the Papa John’s Trophy is where it’s at. Shellacking Tranmere’s grown-ups 5-3 in the opening match of the tournament — fun! Joffy Gelhardt teasing the opposition goalie about the swerve of his shots — what a laugh! A tournament named after pizza — I love pizza!

But Tranmere are dossing around in League Two, and Leeds’ trip to Bolton for their second group fixture quickly felt like it might not be an equivalent extravaganza. Bolton are seventh in the division above Tranmere, one point off fourth in League One. Without Joffy, Sam Greenwood, Willy Gnonto, or Leo Hjelde, the gremlins who ran rings around Tranmere were made to look like schoolkids playing against the big lads a couple of years above. In those scenarios, even the smaller ones seem more intimidating by association, just by standing next to the bigger boys and growing a bit of bumfluff on their chins. Jon Dadi Bodvarrson was part of the Iceland team that (hilariously) knocked England out of Euro 2016, and was joined up front by Elias Kachunga, who was part of the Huddersfield team that was (hilariously) relegated from the Premier League.

The U21s were helped by the experience of 32-years-young goalie Joel Robles, making his first appearance in a Leeds shirt after telling coach Michael ‘Skoobs’ Skubala he fancied a game. Robles impressed, making some good saves and launching some nice passes, but he was always going to be in for a busy night with a makeshift defence in front of him. Midfielder Morten Spencer continued at centre-back next to seventeen-year-old James Debayo, making only his second start for the U21s this season. Kris Moore is normally a centre-back, but had his name picked out of the hat to become the latest player to fill in at left-back, then swapped with Debayo midway through the first half anyway. There were a couple of moments when Robles tried to act the grown up and take charge, only for the kids in front to understandably panic amid an unfamiliar backline and rush clearances away from him.

Even so, Leeds matched Bolton in the first half. In the absence of Willy and Joffy, Sean McGurk and Charlie Allen were handed starts. Allen has generally been on the fringes of this team for the last couple of years, but has begun impressing in his cameos this season. He kept linking up with Mateo Joseph to set McGurk clear, but McGurk twice wasted one on ones with Bolton ‘keeper Joel Dixon. After he awkwardly toepoked the second well wide, McGurk booted the ball at an advertising hoarding in frustration. Shortly afterwards, he was skying another opening from the edge of the box over the bar, and his teammates were showing their own frustration after McGurk had ignored their pleas for a pass.

Just like at Tranmere, the party of a promising start from Leeds was pooped by the opposition scoring from their first attack. Moore and Debayo got mixed up between who needed to cover at left-back, and a pass across the edge of the box was thumped in off the post by Bodvarrson. Unlike at Tranmere, Leeds lacked the buzz in attack to shrug it off and keep partying.

McGurk seemed to be in a better mood in the second half. Skoobs said afterwards his players missing chances will only make them better at taking them in the future, and as the first team’s defeat to Arsenal showed, McGurk isn’t the only player at Leeds who needs to learn how to be better at finishing one on ones. Even though Leeds couldn’t create any chances as good as the ones he’d earlier missed, a serene first touch to pluck a ball from the skies and a cheeky nutmeg a few minutes later meant I was happy to forgive McGurk, because they were two moments of instinct you can’t teach.

Skoobs started making changes on the hour, attempting to rekindle the spark, but switching to a back three — Charlie Allen moving from attack to left-wing-back — failed to swing the momentum as Bolton’s physicality gradually wore Leeds down. The back three lasted for fifteen minutes, before Skoobs reverted to a four-man defence with Moore at left-back (I’m afraid I’m going to have to keep pointing these things out until Leeds sign half a dozen left-backs).

Bolton didn’t let Skoobs compare the effect of the changes, scoring two minutes later when sub Amadou Bakayoko scored from a rebound off Robles. Leeds were trying their best to reward the contingent of away supporters in one corner of the ground, and it felt cruel for Kieran Sadlier to beat the offside trap and take the ball around Robles to score a third and final goal.

Skoobs admitted Bolton deserved to win, focussing on the positives of the first half and a second half that should teach his players a lesson or two. He told Leeds Live:

“[It was] a huge test, a great test going against a good team and credit to their team and staff, Bolton are a good team and they play lots of decent football. There was lots of decent challenges but I thought, first half, we really matched them and we could have scored a couple.

“I think as a team if we’re creating chances we must be doing something right. As individuals they have to step up in the big moments and score those goals. I think we just need to keep creating chances and I think tactically we’re in the right place. If the players get more exposure to those big chances in games like this, they’ll get more comfortable and score more goals. It’s a cycle in that sense.

“It’s a top experience, an absolutely amazing experience for them, and the Papa John’s is amazing. You could say in the first half we’ve matched them and we should have scored, but we couldn’t keep going and there was a bit of physicality and the tempo is different from the Premier League 2, so yeah, really good.”

A trip to Wembley and the chance to finally claim the trophy Leeds should have won in League One remains open. Leeds face Crewe, who have lost their two fixtures in the competition, in their final match of the group stage knowing a win secures qualification to the knockout rounds. The way the first team are going, I’m all in favour of living vicariously through the U21s a little while longer. The involvement of Premier League academies in this competition is dubious to say the least, and I don’t even particularly enjoy Papa John’s, but please don’t take the pizza away.