Five Things We Learnt From Leeds United’s Big Friendly Win Over Harrogate Town – Opinion

The emphatic 3-0 win Leeds United managed to pick up over local neighbours Harrogate Town was the first glimpse Whites supporters would have had this pre-season in the flesh of their team ahead of the forthcoming 2024/25 campaign, and they won’t have been let down.

Daniel Farke would name an extremely strong starting line-up for the test against Simon Weaver’s hosts, with the likes of Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu, Daniel James and more regular first teamers from last season named from the get-go at the Exercise Stadium.

There was still space for the German to experiment with the pool of talented youngsters at his disposal coming through at Elland Road, however, and although the final scoreline would swing in the favour of the Championship outfit 3-0, there were positives for the hosts to latch onto as well from the run-out in the searing Yorkshire sunshine.

With that in mind, here are five pointers from the entertaining Friday night clash that I took away from the game when heading for the exit at full-time, that will no doubt make for intriguing reading for both sets of supporters…

Leeds have plenty of promising youngsters even with Archie Gray now gone

Many of the punters watching on from all corners of Harrogate’s home ground would have been predominantly there to see the likes of Crysencio Summerville and Wilfred Gnonto eventually strut their stuff, but the many youngsters that were thrown into the deep-end by Farke would have impressed spectators as well.

James Debayo, who was a regular for the U21s last season, didn’t look out of place whatsoever in defence at the sun-kissed Exercise Stadium, battling well against tricky home attackers in the form of Sam Folarin and Stephen Duke-McKenna.

Alongside Debayo, further youth products such as Charlie Crew and Harry Gray shone in spurts to show that the future is very bright for the next generation coming through at Leeds.

Coming on for a slice of the action in the second 45 minutes like Crew and Gray, Sam Chambers would steal the show from the perspective of the youth players still out on the turf, netting Leeds’ third and final goal of the evening after hammering an effort past a busy James Belshaw right at the end.

The usual suspects also delivered

Still, away from the influx of youngsters that were given a chance in the spotlight, the usual first team suspects for Leeds delivered the goods, even during a game where building back up fitness was the main objective.

James, in particular, was impressive in a wing-back spot for Farke’s men throughout, with the Harrogate defence constantly finding it hard to keep the former Manchester United man under wraps.

The electric Welshman should have scored on the night too, with two efforts in the second half claimed by Belshaw, after one prodded effort was too straightforward for the shot-stopper and another was saved by the 33-year-old’s feet instinctively.

Georginio Rutter would end up showing to James where the back of the net was with Leeds’ second strike, however, as a floated in Summerville corner would allow for the dynamic Frenchman to rifle an effort home that left Belshaw stranded.

The Dutch attacker caused the Harrogate defenders all sorts of bother in the second half, as you’d expect, alongside Gnonto also being given some minutes into his legs as the Sulphurites suddenly became very aware of the sheer scale of Leeds’ firepower.

Patrick Bamford’s absence wasn’t felt

Patrick Bamford wasn’t risked for the Friday night clash, however, with Farke revealing that minutes will come soon for the injury-prone attacker in friendly contests to come.

His absence from the game at the Exercise Stadium wasn’t exactly felt though, as other attackers were given a chance to impress away from the 30-year-old, with Mateo Joseph really standing out.

The lively 20-year-old will surely be knocking on the door for more first-team opportunities this pre-season and beyond after this showing, setting up Junior Firpo for the opening goal of the friendly, after a wayward early header also trickled wide of the Sulphurites net.

Joseph’s potential and promise is already widely known to the Leeds fanbase though, having scored twice against Chelsea in the FA Cup last campaign, but Joe Gelhardt has become a forgotten figure in comparison.

The former Wigan Athletic man was equally as tricky for the hosts to contain, despite being pushed down the Leeds pecking order as of late, which will give Farke another option up top next season if Bamford is back in the treatment room regularly.

 

Harrogate did trouble Leeds on occasion

It was always going to be an uphill battle for Harrogate to topple Leeds, even in-front of an expectant home faithful cheering them on, with Farke naming many an established Championship performer.

Yet, when the hosts did venture forward on occasion, there were signs that they could trouble League Two defences moving forward, especially if Folarin and Duke-McKenna are firing on all cylinders in the bread and butter of league action.

Duke-McKenna would connect with the post minutes before the half-time interval courtesy of a free-kick opportunity, whilst Folarin would constantly run and run at the Leeds defence, hoping for a rare moment of indecision from the Whites at the back.

The ex Middlesbrough man was nearly rewarded for his tenacity after a poor mix-up in the second half, only for substitute ‘keeper Karl Darlow to intervene with a last ditch leg, but it wasn’t as if Weaver’s men rolled over for Leeds to win with ease.

Competing well with Huddersfield Town before this one-off game against Farke’s visitors too, losing 3-2 in that far closer affair, more challenging home friendlies now await for the League Two outfit.

Some impressive performances from Harrogate new boys

As mentioned above, Duke-McKenna impressed, with the 23-year-old a new summer purchase from Queens Park Rangers.

But, he wasn’t alone in being a new face that competently performed against difficult opponents, with Zico Asare also walking away proud of his showing at the back.

Formerly on the books of Fulham at youth level, the new Harrogate number two had his work cut out for him, but defended valiantly for the most part.

A bumper crowd packed into the Exercise Stadium would have left encouraged by what they saw, as the waves of Leeds fans also headed back to the train station to make their short commute back to their West Yorkshire hub full of excitement, as the high stakes drama of EFL football kicks off against next month.

RELATED ARTICLES

BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT

Leave a Reply