Leeds United goalkeeper Alex Cairns started for Scott Gardner’s Under-21s side as they were narrowly beaten by Manchester United Under-21s at Thorp Arch.

Marshalled at the back by the vastly experienced stopper, the Whites impressed throughout despite the result, finding the back of the net through a fantastic strike from Louie Philpott.

“I think we dominated to be brutally honest,” the goalkeeper told LUTV. “I think the game was won on two bad goals for us but in terms of how we played, I thought the lads were excellent.

“I thought all over the pitch we played the better football, the lads wanted the ball a lot more. But in general, the boys really pushed. I thought we were going to go and get an equaliser and then a winner but it unfortunately was not to be.”

Speaking on his role as a mentor to the younger players, Cairns added: “I think it is important for us as a first team to integrate with these guys a lot because they do a lot of the training with us as well.

“It is nice for them to see us in a game situation and build bonds because we might be playing together in the first team at some point. So building those bonds, trusting each other, knowing what we can and cannot do is so important.

“With me being a little bit older, I can try and pass on my experience, especially when you are playing in conditions like these with the wind. It was a big learning curve in terms of dealing with the conditions but the way we came out second half, we were to a man excellent.”