Leeds United have confirmed that 10,000 tickets have now been sold for the under-23s' clash with Manchester City at Elland Road on Friday, April 22. The young Whites have been in excellent form of late, being Manchester United, Liverpool and Crystal Palace on home soil, where in excess of 9,000 supporters were there to watch.
It is terrific support for an U23s game and the record for an attendance at the level could be broken if sales keep rising by the day, with the current feat standing at 16,935, with Everton currently holding that record. Despite their up-turn in form, the Whites are four points above the drop zone from Division One and need crucial points from their final three matches to stay up.
Next is a trip to Brighton & Hove Albion on Friday before the City game one week later and a finale at Arsenal on April 29, the night before the first team host Pep Guardiola’s side. It is poised to be a busy few weeks for Andrew Taylor's side as they try and stay in the top division.
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Joe Gelhardt, who was a mainstay in the U23s last season, has sent a rallying cry to the supporters to keep boosting ticket sales and attend the game. Gelhardt was part of the side that lifted the second tier title last term, scoring 11 goals and chipping in with three assists in 16 appearances.
Gelhardt’s exposure to first-team football, along with the injury issues he has suffered this year, have meant he has played less under-23 football than usual. Despite that, he has had plenty of experiences with the second-string in front of a rocking Elland Road and believes even going for the record underlines the level of support the club has.
“To even have the ambition to break that level,” he said. “We’ve had 10,000 something against Man United, Liverpool and we played against Palace, and I don’t even think it got advertised everywhere, and it was nearly 5,000 or more there.
“It just shows how unreal the support is. I’ve never had that at under-23 level, I’ve never seen that type of support and that just shows how good the fans are.”
Fans can get their tickets via the Leeds United website here.
