League Two outfit Tranmere and Mark Jackson’s Leeds Under-21s side locked horns in the group stage of the EFL Trophy at Prenton Park on Tuesday.
The Super White Army emerged victorious on the night, beating Leeds Under-21s 4-1, but the Whites youth stars gave their opponents a run for their money.
Reflecting on the game, Tranmere first team coach Parkinson pointed out that Jackson’s Leeds Under-21s play like Marcelo Bielsa’s senior squad.
Parkinson went on to admit that the Super White Army struggled to manage Leeds’ style of play, but is of the view they did well to earn a 4-1 victory.
“They are good“, Parkinson told Tranmere’s in-house media.
“You can see by them, they have got a set way of playing which is like the first team.
“Difficult for our lads to kind of manage that, but we thought we did really well with that.“
The 42-year-old hailed Leeds Under-21s as an energetic side and conceded that they are difficult to play against even though Tranmere registered a 4-1 win.
“Leeds, real young side they brought here tonight [Tuesday; ed.]“, Parkinson said.
“Really energetic, difficult to play against, but our lads put on a show worthy of the four goals.“
While Jackson in charge of Leeds’ youth set-up, the Whites have been working to emulate Bielsa’s playing style and Parkinson’s statements are testimony to their efforts.
