Leeds United manager hails players’ comeback after damning ‘35 times’ statistic

United were the underdogs as they entered into their first round tie against Brighouse Town, who compete in the division above, returning to the So-Trak Stadium where the previous weekend, the Whites had surrendered their place at the summit of Division One North with a 1-0 defeat to top-of-the-table rivals Durham Cestria.

The Whites went toe-to-toe with their higher-league opponents before a long range shot by Brighouse’s Ella Harris got the better of Leeds ‘keeper Carrie Simpson in the 78th minute. An Abbie Brown penalty levelled the score for United to push the tie to extra time, but neither side could find a goal to seize a place in the second round.

In a remarkable shoot-out featuring five saves and two misses, United earned passage to the second round thanks to Simpson’s show-stopping performance and a stunning penalty by captain Rebekah Bass.

Following the win, Whites boss Passmoor couldn’t speak highly enough of his players’ attitude.

“It all comes down to the players, the players’ mentality, their belief, their workability together, really believing in themselves,” said Passmoor, who took charge in July.

“They took loads of ownership, before the game, at half-time, even that little collective togetherness before the penalties, they really ran the show and that’s what we really want from the players - them taking accountability of what direction this football club wants to go to.

“Everything goes toward the players, a massive massive pat on the back for how they played, how they dug in, and to get the result at the end of the day.”

The result is a massive turnaround for the Whites, who could find no reply after going behind in the 23rd minute of their most recent league game against Durham to spoil their unbeaten home record.

After a sub-standard performance Passmoor is delighted with the way his team approached the FA Cup tie.

“I think the girls were disappointed from last week’s performance against Durham,” he told LUTV.

“We huffed and puffed against Durham without any creativity, the stats still say, we entered the final third about 35 times against Durham but only got four shots off and out of four, there was only one on target.

“There’s loads of positives from today. The girls wanted to bounce back, having a couple of losses on the bounce really creates anxiety sometimes so today the girls were aware of that but played with freedom, and also played with so much spirit - what the FA Cup’s all about.”

Leeds will face fifth-tier Redcar Town Ladies, who they knocked out with a 4-0 win in last season’s competition, in the second round of the FA Cup, to be competed on November 27.