John Coleman praises youthful Leeds United Under-21s after EFL Trophy outing

Accrington Stanley boss John Coleman has praised Leeds United's Under-21s for their efforts in a 7-0 defeat at the Crown Ground.

The Whites travelled to Lancashire on Tuesday evening in EFL Trophy action with the competition pitting Football League sides against top tier category one academies.

Leeds opted to field a young line-up for the clash as Mark Jackson led out what was essentially an Under-18s squad for the Group G encounter.

United decided against breaking their training bubble at Thorp Arch, with a number of Under-23s required to put Marcelo Bielsa's senior players through their paces amid depleted numbers due to the international break.

The Argentine's squad are stepping up their preparations ahead of the Premier League curtain raiser at Liverpool this weekend.

Stanley ran out emphatic winners on the night as the League One outfit took a five-goal cushion into the interval before adding another two in the second half.

Head coach Coleman, though, believed it to be a good learning experience for the visitors young stars and praised their attitude and application in difficult circumstances.

"I must give a big shout-out to Leeds," he said post-match.

"They kept on going until the end. They're only young boys and we can't govern what they put out.

"They showed great character and great appetite. It could've been an avalanche but they stuck firm and only conceded two in the second half.

"We were trying to score as many as we could so fair play to them for that. They stuck to their task. They've got some really good technical footballers.

"Obviously there is the age factor and strength factor that was always going to come into it.

"It's unfair to judge these young boys on that but they showed enough in the game through their passing and control to let you know there will be some good players coming through the Leeds academy.

"They were only beaten by pure strength really, it wasn't by skill. We did put some nice moves together, but they have to take a lot of credit for how well they dug in towards the end."

Asked whether it was detrimental to the competition for United to put out such a young side, he said: "I just think it'll do their lads the world of good.

"I've played against Liverpool's teams in bounce games and I've spoken to their Under-23s and Under-19s managers and they have said how much they learned from it and how much of an education it is for them.

"They will be disappointed to lose so heavily but it is an education. It's part of it and they'll learn more tonight than they will in a Premier League Under-23s game where it is very tippy-tappy and it isn't as dynamic as it was tonight.

"It is part of their learning curve and I'm sure they will come on for it."