01-08-15: Barrow (a) 0-0 (HT 0-0) Crowd (766)

United travelled to Holker Street to play Vanarama Conference Premier Division side Barrow on 1st August 2015 in front of a crowd of 766 and the game was refereed by Marc Edwards. The Leeds starting eleven was: Eric Grimes; Jack Vann, Tyler Denton; Alex Purver, Ross Killock, Jake Skelton; Lewis Walters, Chris Dawson, Eoghan Stokes, Nicky Ajose, Frank Mulhern. Bailey Peacock-Farrell replaced Eric Grimes in goal and their other substitutes were Tom Lyman, Mike Taylor, Robbie McDaid, Luke Parkin and Malik Wilkes. Frank mulhern had an early chance for Leeds but his free-kick was deflected just wide. Barrow looked dangerous and Andy Howarth went close but he could not direct his header on target. Paddy Lacey had the best chance of the first half for Barrow but he fired over from close range. The second-half, which had not produced many notable moments as the action lacked spark, livened uo a little as Danny Livesey's shot was cleared off the line by Chris Dawson. the Barrow defender's follow-up header was then saved as the clock ticked past the sixty-seven minute mark and this was soon followed by Andy Bond's volley rattling the bar, but had he scored it would not have counted as he was flagged offside. There was a melee inthe Leeds area five minutes later after several Leeds players took umbrage of Andy Cook's challenge on the Leeds substitute goalkeeper, Bailey Peacock-Farrell. Ten minutes later the keeper was in action as he fielded a shot from Elliot Newby and the same player also shot high and wide of the Leeds goal a short time afterwards. The game finished 0-0 and was not a very entertaining game and while there were one or two near misses this was little excitement in either goalmouth. The Barrow line-up was Joel Dixon; Niall Cowperthwaite, Neil Ashton, Paddy Lacey, Danny Livesey, Simob Grand, Andy Howarth, David Mellor, Ashley Grimes, Andy Cook, Dan Pilkington. The Barrow substitutes were Alex-Ray Harvey for Paddy Lacey, David Symington for Andy Haworth, Andy Bond for David Mellor, Jason walker for Ashley Grimes in the fifty-third minute. Aaron Taylor for Joel Dixon in goal, and Brad Carroll for Niall Cowperthwaite, ten minutes later and Steve Williams for Simon Grand and Elliot Newby for Dan Pilkington after sixty-eight minutes and finally ten minutes later, Alex Newby replaced Andy Cook.

Programme & Teamsheet:

Match Report: North-West Evening Mail: 01-08-2015

Edmondson opted to play new strikers Ashley Grimes and Andy Cook up front, with Josh Walker settling for a substitute's role. "We've got a centre-back decision, a forward decision. In centre-midfield we've got to make surethat one of those two (Harvey or Fofana) step in and is fit enough to do the job. Grimesy and Cooky linked up well today and then Jason came on and looked trenendously sharp, he's been very fit in pre-season. He picked up a little injury - a knock to his hip - and missed a few days training but he worked very hard today." An excellent crowd of 766 turned up for Barrow's final pre-season encounter - the first to be played at Holker Street this summer - which was fought out on the club's pristine new pitch. Leeds' youngsters tried hard enough but they rarely possessed enough power or skill, to seriously trouble their hosts, who quickly took a grip of proceedings. Frank Mulhern's free-kickwas deflected wide before Andy Howarth headed off-target and Lacey's deflected eleventh minute strike just cleared the bar. Grimes and Cook were unable to find the target with efforts, with the former's attempt being snuffed out. A rare Leeds chance saw Chris Dawson shoot well wide from distance, while Niall Cowperthwaite prevented Eoghan Stokes from firing a shot on goal just after the half-hour mark. On forty-two minutes, Lacey squandered a superb opportunity by crashing over the bar from a central position. After the break Dan Pilkington's penalty appeal was rejected after the winger hit the deck in the visitor's area. The action livened up again as Danny Livesey's sixty-seventh minute shot was cleared off the line, before the defender's follow-up header was saved. Moments later, Bond rattled the bar with a volley, although offside was ruled in any case. Temperatures were raised on seventy-two minutes after a few Leeds players were disgruntled by Cook's challenge on substitute stopper Bailey Peacock-Farrell, but order was quickly restored. Elliot Newby executed a couple of late strikes, which did not disturb the net but Barrow can look back on a positive pre-season campaign which saw them win four, draw two and lose just one of their summer friendlies.