U18 Premier League North
Leeds United U18 1 (Bennett 90’)
Nottingham Forest U18 (Powell 11’, Samuels 41’)
Leeds: Wood (GK), Bridge (Balmer), Philpott, Whitehead, Hamilton, Simo, Njinko (Heywood), Bhaskaran (Stockton), Ibrovic-Fletcher (Bennett), Mills (C), Mensah. Subs not used: Woolfrey (GK).
Forest: Brittan (GK), Gardner, Djamna, Jones, Thompson (C), Nolan, Brandy (Turner), Samuels (Kenton), Balagizi (May), Powell (Bonnick), Bradshaw. Subs not used: Bailey
Referee: Neil Howlett
Booked: Mensah, Bennett (Leeds), Samuels, Thompson (Forest)
Venue: Thorp Arch
Leeds United had two goals ruled out as they fell to a 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest in their final game at Thorp Arch this season.
Rob Etherington’s side went behind after just 10 minutes in somewhat unfortunate fashion when a shot from Nottingham Forest’s Shakur Samuels shot was deflected, forcing United’s Oliver Wood into making a sharp reaction save.
However, attacker Jayden Powell was the first man to the rebound, tucking the ball in to the middle of the goal from close range to open the scoring for the visitors.
Throughout the middle part of the first half, the game was not controlled by either side. A lot of congestion in the middle of the pitch meant that Leeds struggled to create many clear-cut chances.
This did not stop them from putting the ball in the back of the net, though, with a great move between Callum Mills and Kenneth Mensah approaching the half-hour mark leading to the captain finding Carrick Njinko at the far post.
He headed the ball into the net but the linesman’s flag went up, denying the Young Whites and keeping the scoreline at one-nil to the visitors.
Forest then doubled their lead after 41 minutes, with the opposition’s attackers combining quickly to allow Samuels to move from the right to middle of the box, shooting low into the bottom right corner with his left foot.
HALF TIME: Leeds United U18 0-2 Nottingham Forest U18
The second half began with the visitors slowing the game down, taking their time with the restarts and not allowing Leeds to gather any momentum or fluency in the match.
It took the Whites until the hour mark to get going but they managed to begin controlling possession and forced the Reds deeper into their own half.
This pressure looked to have paid off after 77 minutes, when substitute Oliver Bennett closed down the Forest ‘keeper. The clearance ricocheted off the onrushing Bennett and into the back of the net.
However, for the second time in the match, the referee’s whistle denied the home side, with the ball being adjudged to have struck the Leeds player’s hand.
The hosts then created a couple more chances in the final 15 minutes of the match, eventually being rewarded on the 90-minute mark when Mensah drove into the box and put the ball across goal.
A scramble around the penalty spot saw the ball squeeze through to Bennett, who halved the deficit by firing into the roof of the net from the edge of the six-yard box.
It was, disappointingly, too little too late for the Whites though with referee Neil Howlett bringing the game to an end soon after the restart.
Leeds United U18s next take on Newcastle United U18s in the Northeast on Tuesday, before travelling to Burnley U18s on Saturday to bring their 2025/26 season to a close.
FULL TIME: Leeds United U18 1-2 Nottingham Forest U18
