Leeds United Under-23s boss praises 'combined effort' as Whites youngster earns plaudits in Reading victory

Leeds United's Under-23s head coach Mark Jackson hailed a 'combined effort' as his side defeated Reading 3-0 on Monday.

The Whites extended their winning run in the Premier League 2 to an impressive eight games and opened up a 13-point gap at the top of the group two standings.

Goals from Liam McCarron and a double from midfielder Stuart McKinstry lifted Leeds to victory at the club's training ground in what was a hard-fought affair against the Berkshire visitors.

United are in pole position to earn promotion to the top division of the category one academy pyramid at the first time of asking after earning top tier status last summer.

Jackson hailed another three point haul for his outfit and praised a huge team effort against a Royals side who had been in good form ahead of their trip to West Yorkshire.

"It was a pleasing day for us," Jackson reflected post-match.

"It's good to get the 3-0 victory and a clean sheet. It was a really, really challenging game and credit to Reading with how they came and set up - they caused us problems.

"I said to their manager at the end it was a really good competitive game of football between two teams who want to try and play in the right way by being aggressive and pressing.

"We came out on top and it's credit to the players for that."

Asked about McKinstry's standout performance in the win, he added: "He's one of the players we are pleased with. It's great to see Stuart get two of the goals today. It was a really combined effort from the team collectively.

"We had to work hard and there were moments of the game where we were under real pressure. We defended really well as a group, pressed high and showed some real quality in our wide play."