Young City defenders pass BBM’s Bamford test
BRIAN Barry-Murphy hailed his City defenders for the way they dealt with the challenge of facing England striker Patrick Bamford.
Luke Mbete and CJ Egan-Riley are used to lining up against players at a similar stage in their career, but on Monday night were given the task of keeping Bamford quiet as he started for Leeds Under-23s as he works his way back to full fitness.
With England Under-20s forward Sam Greenwood alongside him, it was an almighty test for the promising City youngsters.
Greenwood converted a penalty that was harshly awarded against the Blues and then struck in the second half to restore their lead after recent signing Kayky had levelled the scores for City.
However, Bamford was kept quiet over the 90 minutes and strikes from James McAtee and Cole Palmer ensured an impressive win for Brian BarryMurphy’s side – even more so given they played the final halfhour with 10 men following Romeo Lavia’s sending-off.
“It is another example of what we want to try and expose our defensive players to,” said BarryMurphy. “It is priceless.
“I have known Patrick since he was a very young player and his movement and the way he can exploit space in the box is second to none,” he said.
“It was a brilliant exercise for Luke Mbete and CJ Egan-Riley to see how they dealt with that. Fin Burns missed out on that experience because he damaged his nose.
“It was another challenge for those guys because of the nature of the injuries we have suffered and the way the squad has ended up, it has meant they have faced a lot of defensive challenges over the last few weeks. To see them respond in that manner against top-class opposition was brilliant for me.”