In this Carabao Cup second round tie, Leeds fielded a much changed side with 11 changes from when they opened their Premier League campaign against Liverpool. This meant that there was an opportunity for players to make their mark as an option for first team minutes with lots of players making rare first team starts.
Leeds set up in their usual 4-1-4-1 formation, having 11 different starters meant that their performance lacked fluidity and they struggled to create any meaningful chances as they didn’t have a shot on target until the 89th minute. They struggled especially in the first half to move the ball from defensive areas to attacking areas as there wasn’t a real link between the two units.
Some solid performances from the younger players might have served the team well but the more experienced players in the side couldn’t exert their influence on the game which meant it was difficult for the team to relieve pressure in defensive areas. Leeds could have no real arguments about Hull going through as they were the better side on the say, winning on penalties after drawing 1-1 at full time.
Ratings
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Ian Carlo Poveda
Player Profile:
- Nationality: English/Colombian
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 09/02/2000
- Club: Leeds United
- Career: Barcelona (Y), Brentford (Y), Man City (Y), Leeds
- Position: Right Wing
- Preferred foot: Left
Poveda was probably one of Leeds’ most dangerous players in this match, he was lively whenever he was able to get on the ball, especially in the first 15 minutes of the second half. His pace and agility meant he was difficult to keep up with while he was dribbling and he was very direct whenever he picked the ball up as he looked to drive at defenders and cause problems for them. His first touch and ball control in general was very good, he was able to keep the ball close while running at speed. His close control allowed him to be effective in tight spaces out on the touch line and he showed some good manipulation of the ball to beat one or two defenders sometimes with one movement.
Whilst Poveda was dangerous when he was on the ball, struggled to get involved in the game as much as he would’ve liked. Some of this can be attributed to the lack of fluency in the team but he didn’t always move into good areas or find space to receive the ball. especially off the full back which made it difficult for Leeds to play out from the back down the right sometimes.
At only 5’5″ tall Poveda lacked some physicality that would’ve seen him get into some truly dangerous positions. He would often beat one or two men down the wing before being muscled out by a third as he approached the box. Being a bit stronger may have helped him in this regard but he also draws some criticism for not moving the ball on fast enough. He would sometimes go looking to beat a man almost for the sake of it instead of playing a simple pass and moving on. When he did work some space in the final third his final product was a bit lacking, he over hit some passes in behind and couldn’t deliver accurate crosses often enough. His passing in the build up was generally accurate as he played short sharp passes to midfielders when he wasn’t running with the ball.
He wasn’t too involved on the defensive end as the Leeds’ defensive midfielder often covered and helped out in the right back area and left Alioski and Douglas to defend the left, two more senior players. Poveda did press well from the front at times however he seemed to lack some urgency or desire to press all the time like Harrison or Costa do when they usually start for Leeds.
Rating – B1
In flashes, Poveda managed to show what he was all about when he did manage to get on the ball as his dribbling at ball control was very impressive. If he can work on the weight of his passes and some delivery and decision making in the final third then there’s no reason why he can’t be a very dangerous Premier League winger.
Jamie Shackleton
Player Profile:
- Nationality: English
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 08/10/1999
- Club: Leeds United
- Career: Leeds United
- Position: Centre Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Shackleton played the full 90 minutes at right back for this young Leeds side. It’s a position he has played in youth and Under 23’s football but isn’t necessarily a position that Leeds fans have become used to seeing him play for the first team.
Shackleton is only 5’6″ but he doesn’t let it hold him back in physical battles. He was able to compete with taller players in the air and made it difficult for them to direct their headers and he is able to use his body well to hold off opposition players without being pushed out because of his size. As Leeds were under a lot of defensive pressure especially early on, Shackleton was key in defending attacks down the right side and he was able to win a number of tackles throughout the game, as well as make some important blocks and clearances. In the early stages of the game he was Leeds’ best defender as some of the inexperienced players looked a little nervous at times he was on hand to cover.
He posses great agility and pace which means he is an effective presser as he can track and stick with opposition players very well and not let them get away. He showed his midfield tendencies at times as he was able to step in front of Hull’s wide players or into more central areas to cut passes out or make passing options for his teammates. Although at times he seemed to struggle to play out from the back due to a lack of options he was accurate with almost all of his passes and he retained the ball well. He was defensively and positionally disciplined and he stuck his his task throughout the game and was rarely caught out.
He demonstrated his good dribbling ability at times during the game as he looked to try and drive forward with the ball to get the team moving on attacking transitions. But apart from a few dribbles into midfield areas he was rarely involved in attacking areas and he covered counter attacks well from deeper positions.
Rating – B2
Shackleton could definitely be pushed up to an A2 but in a game where he wasn’t necessarily allowed to show off some of his better attributes for lots of the match he couldn’t put his full ability on show. Despite doing the job he was responsible for very well which demonstrated his versatility and discipline.
Charlie Cresswell
Player Profile:
- Nationality: English
- Age: 17
- Date of birth: 07/12/2002
- Club: Leeds United
- Career: Leeds United
- Position: Centre Back
- Preferred foot: Right
17 Year-Old Cresswell made his Leeds’ debut in this game and all things considered gave a pretty good account of himself against a good Hull City attack. He played the full 90 minutes in the centre of defence and made some important challenges and interventions throughout the game.
Cresswell measures in at around 6 feet tall and he was able to use his height as you’d expect and won a number of headers from long balls Hull tried to play over the top of the Leeds’ midfield. As a defender, Cresswell seemed understandably a bit nervy especially at the start of the game but he grew into it quite well and made some good tackles and was able to win the ball a few times for his team. He showed a pretty good awareness of what was around him when dealing with balls as he seemed to know when to bring it down or get it out of the danger areas. As the game wore on he seemed to get a bit tired and was a bit less precise with his clearances and distribution but he was still getting in the right areas to clear the ball.
As a 1v1 defender, Cresswell did a very good job when attackers tried to make him commit to a challenge, he was patient and stood them up well until another teammate could provide some help or until there was an opportunity to put a challenge in, I can’t remember him being beaten in a situation like that. Some off his defensive issues came off the ball and with playing Leeds’ high line. Whether it was through any fault of his own or not he seemed to be left on his won at the back on a few occasions and without any help he appeared to lack some pace required to play a high line effectively. When in a foot race with attackers like Wilks he didn’t have the speed to keep up which meant he was sometimes caught out of position if there was a lot of space in behind him.
He was impressive on the ball, he was confident to receive the ball to feet even when he was under pressure and he played through Hull’s press quite well at times by popping quick passes through gaps or into space and then moving through the lines himself to receive it back in more space. His short passing when building up from the back was quite good but he struggled to connect with a lot of his longer passes up the line or diagonal to the other winger, or even just longer passes into the feet of midfielders. He seemed to under hit a lot of them, especially as the game grew old which could be down to a bit of fatigue as well. His awareness of what was around him was good again as he was able to play some one touch passes to areas where we wasn’t looking and he didn’t normally let himself get under too much pressure on the ball.
He was unable to connect with one corner when he was free on the six yard box but prior to that he showed good movement to lose his marker and get free which is encouraging if he can be a threat from set pieces.
Rating – C
Cresswell acquitted himself well in this game for the most part, he was confident on the ball and was able to step up into midfield areas on the ball at times as well as to intercept and despite sometimes being a bit rushed on his passes his distribution was generally good.
Leif Davis
Player Profile:
- Nationality: English
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 12/01/2000
- Club: Leeds United
- Career: Morecambe, Leeds United
- Position: Left Back
- Preferred foot: Left
Davis started at centre back alongside Cresswell in this game, despite his usual position being left back. His game didn’t get off to the best of starts as a poor block attempt led to him deflecting a shot into the goal for Hull’s opener. In the early parts of the game especially Davis struggled with the high balls that came from Hull’s defence and midfield and he would often get caught under the ball which meant he was unable to challenge for the ball so it dropped and bounced in dangerous areas in and around the box. He became more comfortable later in the game and he was able to win 3/4 aerial duels that he did challenge for.
He defended well when the ball was on the ground, he was strong in duels and tackles and was able to win the ball back on a few occasions. Being a natural left back he covered across into wide areas very well when the left back got caught further forwards up the pitch. In fact his full back behaviours were on show when Leeds were attacking as he took up particularly wide and high positions on the left especially for a player that was supposed to be a centre back.
His passing was pretty impressive throughout this game, he was able to hit some good diagonals out to the right wing to try and get Poveda away into space and his vertical passing into midfield was particularly good. He punched passes into midfielders feet well which meant that they could break the Hull pressing from the front and the midfield could turn and run at goal. He was able to play passes along the floor into midfield of varying lengths but they were struck firmly which made them difficult to cut out. He made good passing options for the keeper and midfield to give him the ball and his passing between the defenders was good and he was able to pick out the defender in space more often than not.
Davis showed he had good pace and was quite strong as he was able to prevent a couple of counter attacks by keeping up with and then pushing attackers off the ball in wide areas, especially after set pieces. He also showed his pace and ball control as once or twice he made a burst down the left and beat one or two defenders thanks to his pace up the wing before getting into crossing positions but he struggled to convert these into chances.
Rating – C
Davis’ panic and difficulty dealing with high balls in the early stages contributed to Leeds’ going a goal behind and the panicky nature fo the defence but he grew into the game and was pretty solid for most of it.
Mateusz Bogusz
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Polish
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 22/08/2001
- Club: Leeds United
- Career: Ruch Chorzow, Leeds United
- Position: Centre Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Bogusz started with Tyler Roberts and Olly Casey in Leeds’ midfield three, Casey was replaced by Struijk at half time. Bogusz’s best moments came in the first half, he struggled to get involved on the ball as much in the second half before he was eventually replaced in the 78th minute.
Bohusz showed good ability when on the ball, he was able to pass through the lines well and try to get the ball into Leeds’ attacking players. He showed he was a good technical player, he demonstrated on a few occasions his quick feet to get away from defenders or a little body feint to create space. He worked well in tight situations and was able to manoeuvre the ball away from 2 or three defenders at times when he was put under pressure. He showed some good touches to beat defenders or move the ball away form them before passing it and he moved the ball intelligently, not holding on to it for too long. There were occasions where his first touch was poor and he lost the ball with it but it was generally good.
He showed good strength as he was able to hold off multiple defenders at a time before drawing a foul on one or two occasions and he was quite strong in tackles too. He wasn’t afraid to stick a foot in to win the ball back and he hit tackles quite hard. He was often involved in loose ball duels as he was quick to react to loose balls around him and would often be the first player to meet the ball which meant he was able to come out on top a lot.
He was able to drift into space in midfield quite well, especially in the first half but it also meant that he drifted in and out of the game too much. He wasn’t a prominent figure in midfield so the pay couldn’t progress through the middle at times which is what Leeds’needed Bogusz to do as Roberts was playing further up than him. He was unable to influence the game much at all during the second half before he was eventually substituted.
Rating – C
A lot of Leeds’ young players put in pretty solid performances of they were to be judged individually but they were let down by a lack of cohesion and fluidity from the team as whole and the fact that more senior players didn’t step up and take charge of the game as they would’ve liked.
Target Scouting 