Friendly: Farsley AFC 0 Leeds United 5

Last updated : 24 July 2013 By Phil Hay YEP

United outplayed their non-league opponents and secured victory with three goals in the first half and two in the second.

New signings Matt Smith and Noel Hunt both scored on their debuts after Dominic Poleon’s early finish sparked the rout of an overwhelmed Farsley side.

There were notable omissions from Brian McDermott’s squad at Throstle Nest, with Sam Byram, El-Hadji Diouf, Chris Dawson, Rodolph Austin and Ryan Hall all left out, but the Leeds boss took enough players to field different line-ups at the start of each half.

The friendly took place in baking temperatures and Farsley wilted after only five minutes when Poleon ran onto Michael Tonge’s pass and drilled the ball past goalkeeper Tom Morgan.

The young striker, who started and scored in United’s final game of last season, carried the threat up front and Smith almost increased the lead when his header forced Morgan to tip the ball over the bar.

Morgan was by far the busier of the two keepers - Paddy Kenny watched a couple of long-range efforts fly wide - and a low save denied Smith an apparently certain goal in the 20th minute after Ross McCormack cut in behind Farsley’s defence.

But Smith found the net moments later when Poleon’s trickery and deft cross gave him a simple headed chance from close range and he scored again on 27 minutes by nodding home a well-worked corner.

Farsley struggled to make an impression on Leeds and the frame of Morgan’s goal was rattled soon after when Michael Brown struck the inside of the post with a vicious strike from 30 yards. Smith also came within inches of a hat-trick when his chip struck the crossbar on 36 minutes.

The interval gave Farsley little respite and Hunt punished them with his first chance at the start of the second half, steering a deadly header past Morgan’s desperate dive.

The hosts conceded for a fifth time on 62 minutes, with Aidan White bursting into the box and converting a sweet left-footed shot but Farsley regrouped an held firm for the remainder of the match. Paddy Miller almost claimed a consolation when his late cross curled onto a post.

McDermott, whose side were watched by a crowd of around 2,000, said: “We were playing in front of great support today, fantastic, and they deserve to see good football and the lads giving everything. They saw that here.”

Farsley: Morgan, Lloyd, Miller (Serrant 46), O’Brien (Briggs 46), Riley (Liburd 46), B Middleton, Mallory (Grant 46), Young (Bambrook 46), James (D Middleton 46), Savoury, Serrant (Harrison 46).

Leeds United (first half): Kenny, Peltier, Killock, Pearce, Pugh, Brown, Green, Tonge, McCormack, Smith, Poleon. Subs (not used): Cairns, N Turner, Parkin, Taylor, Murphy, Walters.

Leeds United (second half): Cairns, L Turner, Lees, Warnock, Drury, Norris, Thompson, Lenighan (Murphy 76), White, Varney, Hunt. Subs (not used): N Turner, Parkin, Taylor, Walters.