United Assistant Manager Dave Bassett was keen to accentuate the positives after reflecting on a night that saw the side crash out of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy to Bury at Elland Road. Despite conceding two more set-piece goals, and then seeing Filipe Da Costa red carded for violent conduct on his first full start, the stand-in boss was pleased with the teams attitude. 'There were a lot of plusses,' said Bassett. 'We played well in the second half and we just needed a goal. Even in defeat you can't ask for anymore. The attitude of the players was top notch.'
'When Filipe got sent off and we went down to ten men it gave us more of a mountain, but in the second half we did everything possible. We had 19 efforts - they had five. Their keeper made some good saves and we had a few off-target. If we had been more clinical it would have helped. It just wasn't to be.'
The stand-in boss was full of praise for the performances of the younger players. 'Simon Madden had a terrific debut and did extremely well. And Jonny Howson was outstanding. We had a lot of young players with Huntington, Howson, Madden and Ben (Parker) who gave another good performance. If we'd have had eleven men we might have done it. Bury rode their luck but they are through and best of luck to them now.'
