"It’s important to face adversity" - Carlos Corberan delighted with Leeds United's response after Under-23s struggles

Leeds United's Under-23s side won their first game in over two months on Monday afternoon at Thorp Arch
Leeds United Under-23s head coach Carlos Corberan.Leeds United Under-23s head coach Carlos Corberan.
Leeds United Under-23s head coach Carlos Corberan.

Leeds United Under-23s head coach Carlos Corberan was left delighted by his side’s 2-0 victory over Barnsley on Monday afternoon.

The Whites entered the Yorkshire derby clash winless in their previous six outings in all competitions with the development squad’s last victory coming in mid-September against Watford at Elland Road.

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United suffered a damaging 7-1 defeat to Derby County in the Premier League Cup last time out but returned to winning ways at Thorp Arch as Ryan Edmondson and Jordan Stevens struck in either half.

First-team players Pablo Hernandez, Barry Douglas and Gaetano Berardi all picked up valuable match sharpness while defender Bryce Hosannah made his comeback from injury following a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Edmondson bagged after just four minutes as he swept home a low cross from summer signing Liam McCarron with a neat finish past Tykes goalkeeper Harrison Davison-Hale.

Stevens then pounced on a mistake on the hour mark to secure all three points for Corberan’s outfit.

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A loose header dropped between two Barnsley defenders with Edmondson making his way back from an offside position leaving Stevens free to strike unopposed.

The visitors mustered a response through Harry Gagen before Sam Fielding headed over from underneath the crossbar in the closing stages.

Pascal Struijk almost grabbed a third for the Whites as he saw a towering effort cleared off the line from a corner before Stevens struck the post in added time.

Corberan was left pleased by his squad’s response to their difficult run of form at the full-time whistle, believing that they had shown great character to bounce back.

“The performance of the team was important,” he said.

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“The result too because we came from one hard result. It’s important to face adversity, to overcome adversity – this is life and football too. You have to be ready to give your best every time and not be worse than the opponent.

“The personality of the players is key to consolidate good performances and get good results.

“The guys feel pain after losing a game. You want to show you are ready to change the result.

“I think sometimes these results, in the cup game against a very strong team, with very young guys, it is positive to see how demanding football is, how important it is to play your best and to try to deliver over your level. Football is always a demanding profession.”

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Asked about a vital win which saw the Whites return to form in the league, he added: “To grow as a team we need to win the individual challenges.

“We won a lot of situations today. The result of the game always is a consequence of how you attack and at the same time how you defend.

“I am very happy with some moments in attack, showing personality to play from the back, being brave to play and, at the same time, showing strong structure in defence.”