Leeds United representation at Wembley after 'impressive' Whites played bit-part in final journey

Ex-Thorp Arch graduate and Whites supporter Sam Hird is a first team coach with Bolton Wanderers, who will take on Plymouth Argyle in the final.

The former defender spent nine years in the Leeds academy before a 250-plus EFL game career that brought promotions with Doncaster Rovers and Chesterfield. Before retiring he helped then National League Barrow earn a place in League Two.

This season Hird has helped guide Bolton to fifth place in the League One table, 16 points behind leaders and fellow finalists Plymouth and although promotion is the priority for both clubs this season, a Wembley final represents a huge occasion for each set of players, management and fans.

An all League One final also ensures, for the seventh consecutive season, that a Premier League academy side will not lift the trophy. Since their 2016 introduction, the invited top flight youngsters have failed to make the final.

Revamping the competition as they did prompted criticism for the English Football League over fears that the potentially once-in-a-lifetime carrot of a Wembley appearance would be stolen from players outside the top flight. The invitation handed out to Premier League youngsters was said by critics to devalue the competition and led directly to boycotts by various sets of supporters. There were also suggestions that it could act as a backdoor for top flight B teams entering the EFL itself.

Bolton boss Ian Evatt went on record in 2021 to state his opposition to B team involvement in the EFL Trophy, let alone the league pyramid itself, prior to a 4-1 group stage win over Liverpool Under 21s.

This season the Premier League academy side pitted against his Wanderers was Leeds United, which gave Evatt's first team coach a kick, if nothing else.

But speaking to the YEP after a 3-0 victory over his former club at the University of Bolton Stadium back in October, Hird insisted that Bolton treated the game as they would any other and that a fixture against Leeds, albeit the club's youngsters, held merit for the League One side.

"Before we played them we did our analysis and they're probably one of the best sides we've seen in terms of how they move the ball, their energy and the intensity they play with," he said.

"We knew it would be a tough game and as you saw from the first half, it was a well-fought contest. Both sides had chances and then as the second half wore on they got a bit tired, which is to be expected playing against seasoned first team players.

"Leeds was a good draw for us in our group because we knew they would be at it. With all due respect, when you come up against some of the Under 21s, you know it's going to be a different type of game but with Leeds you know it will be high energy, high intensity and they will have good technical players who want to come and win. Our player preparation was very much like it would be for a league game, we took it really seriously and we had to. We were really impressed with Leeds."

Sonny Perkins and Mateo Joseph stood out especially to Evatt and his staff, who are likely to be monitoring the loan situations at Thorp Arch this summer, particularly if they complete their League One escape.

Before that there's the no-small matter of some silverware on offer.

Hird was on loan to Doncaster from Leeds in 2007 when Rovers won the EFL Trophy. He lost to Peterborough as a Chesterfield player in the 201 final, so is all-too aware of how painful defeat at the last hurdle can be. But the idea of falling to defeat at the hands of a Premier League academy side in the group stage served as fuel for Bolton's fire en route to Wembley.

"I think there should be that motivation," he told the YEP after the Leeds game.

"I've been there as a player and sometimes it can be harder to get that same motivation against a 21s side, compared with a league game, but it comes from us as a staff and it comes from them as players, the preparation you give them and the knowledge that it's going to be a tough game against Leeds. We were really pleased with the attitude and energy and desire to go and perform and play to their levels. It was excellent. And you know, we were very happy to win the game."

Since that win Hird and Bolton have celebrated others against Barrow, Manchester United U21s, Portsmouth and Accrington Stanley. One more will put their hands on the trophy and complete a journey in which Leeds played a small part.