All six of Leeds United’s summer signings picked up some valuable game time on Thursday as Jesse Marsch’s side saw off Brisbane Roar 2-1 at the Cbus Super Stadium in Gold Coast. It was the Whites' first game of their pre-season tour of Australia and while there is plenty of work still to do before the Premier League starts in three weeks’ time, the head coach was pleased with his side’s efforts.
Here’s a look at how the new recruits fared against the A-League side.
Rasmus Kristensen
The Dane started the game on the right-hand side for Marsch and he looked the part in what was his first outing in a Leeds shirt. Getting forward at will, Kristensen played a key role during Leeds’ dominant first half in which they scored two goals through Dan James and Joe Gelhardt.
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Kristensen’s presence in attacking areas posed questions of Brisbane’s defence and he regularly received the ball in space as the Australian outfit struggled to deal with the overlap. He scored 10 goals in all competitions last season for Red Bull Salzburg and it’s not hard to see why.
He did get caught out of position defensively at one point allowing Brisbane to counter, but nothing came of it. The 25-year-old was one of a host of players to be replaced at half-time.
Tyler Adams
Adams emerged onto the turf in Gold Coast at the interval and in truth, he looked a little rusty. It’s probably to be expected, though, given it was his first outing since representing the United States against El Salvador in June.
The midfielder had a few decent touches once he had settled into the contest, but he’ll certainly be keen to make more of an impression in a couple of days against Aston Villa.
Brenden Aaronson
Like Adams, this was Aaronson’s first outing since turning out for the States in that CONCACAF Nations League game in El Salvador. However, he started the game in Gold Coast and looked to make himself busy on the left side of a front four, featuring Rodrigo, James and Gelhardt.
He tried hard and got himself on the ball regularly but his impact on the contest was limited. Leeds’ attack wasn’t firing on all cylinders against the Roar and it might take some time before connections and understandings are built between the new signings and their teammates.
Luis Sinisterra
The Colombia international got 30 minutes at the Cbus after being given two 15-minute stints either side of the interval. He replaced Dan James after half an hour and managed to catch the eye early with a couple of tidy touches on the ball and some neat footwork.
However, it became clear that he was lacking match sharpness as the match wore on and the contest passed him by at times. He’ll get better with more minutes, of that there is no doubt.
Darko Gyabi
Gyabi was another to step off the bench at the interval and got 45 minutes under his belt in front of large pockets of travelling Leeds support. The midfielder has impressed in training whilst in Australia and he had a couple of eye-catching moments in the game as well.
He couldn’t prevent Leeds from looking a little disjointed and jaded in the second half, though.
Marc Roca
One of Leeds’ best on the night as he started the game and showed his class in the first 45 minutes, pulling the strings alongside Adam Forshaw in the middle of the park. He looked cool in possession and showed off his passing range with some delightful lofted passes in key areas.
He’s been in pre-season training since day one and he did appear to be one of the fittest on the field for the Whites as he got about and threw his weight around defensively.
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