Crewe Alexandra have come through a tough Youth Cup tie at Leeds United to progress to the second round and yet another away clash at either Bradford City or Southport. Crewe's match winner on the night came via a close range finish from midfielder Chris Rowntree, whose run into the Leeds United penalty area saw him tap home into an empty net after Sean Cooke's initial effort had been saved on 14 minutes.

The youngsters had to weather the storm at times, with goalkeeper Daniel Platt saving brilliantly to dent Sanchez Payne in the second half. Crewe's resilience in defence and hard work against a competitive Leeds United side made for a good cup-tie and a wonderful result in Yorkshire.

In rainy conditions at Elland Road, both sides began this Youth Cup tie sizing each other up for the opening spells of the game. The game began at a good tempo and the slippery conditions on a lush playing surface led to some forceful sliding tackles. The home side had Will Hatfield and then Callum Baxendale cautioned in the first period for untidy lunges on Cooke and Rowntree.

Although both teams were playing possession football and crisply passing the ball, chances were few and far between in the opening exchanges. Leeds' winger Sanchez Payne shot wide on 7 minutes and Crewe's goalkeeper Daniel Platt had to adjust his feet quickly to deal with a tricky back pass as Jonathan Birbeck rushed onto him. As he wasn't called upon to use his hands in the first half, he demonstrated some tidy footwork on occasions.

Crewe were finding it difficult to really produce some quality in the final third. A probing long ball from Joe O'Sullivan ran just ahead of winger Jon Stephens and Jason Oswell, who recently scored twice against Manchester United in an Academy Under-18 game was playing more with his back to the goal.

With their first real attack of any note, Crewe Alexandra took the lead on 14 minutes. Oswell used his ability outside of the box to play in the pacy Cooke in behind the Leeds defence and his powerful drive was well saved by Ryan Jones. Cooke reacted hastily to the loose ball though and poked it dangerously across the six-yard for the advanced Rowntree to force the ball over the line. It was a real poachers' strike from the hard working midfielder and would prove decisive.

Leeds attempted to response to that set-back but were relatively restricted to efforts from long range. Payne again shot wide, as did full-back Aidan White following a fantastic run from within his own half.

That wasn't to say Crewe didn't provide a threat when pressing forward. Cooke showed real pace and conviction to lay off a chance for O'Sullivan on the edge of the Leeds box but he couldn't keep his effort down to test Jones.

The Crewe defence were standing firm. They were well drilled by captain Harry Davis and the vocal Cheyenne Dunkeley and Platt would have been pleased not to have been tested at all in the first 45 minutes.

One promising move from Leeds via a simple throw-in did allow Mike Whitwell to play in his strike partner Birbeck inside the Crewe box - but his low shot was deflected behind for a rare corner by the powerful Duneley.

With Leeds trailing to just the one goal, Neil Critchley and James Collins would have warned the players about Leeds looking to raise the tempo of the match in the second half. Crewe were on the back foot early on, with full-back White shooting just wide of the target.

The lively Sanchez Payne then took centre stage for Leeds United and was unfortunate not to have equalised after a couple of good efforts. The only thing that was standing between Leeds and an equaliser was the Crewe Alexandra goalkeeper Daniel Platt. He did superbly to tip a Sanchez effort around his post and was there again to deny the same player again after his powerful drive had passed a number of bodies ahead of him.

Crewe did venture forward though with Cooke creating another shooting chance for midfielder Michael Koral, but his eventual effort was straight at Jones in the Leeds goal. Cooke, who was a constant threat in forward positions, also tested the Leeds keeper, especially in the wet conditions.

Crewe were doing well when breaking with numbers from midfield and needed the counter-attacking option as was Leeds' domination of the play for the opening 15 minutes of the second half. Both Crewe's Jon Stephens and the Leeds striker Mike Whitwell then found themselves in the referee's book after a little spat on the touchline. It was something in nothing. Cooke was also booked for Crewe for needlessly throwing the ball away after a soft free kick was awarded against him.

With just over 20 minutes remaining, Leeds' manager Neil Redfearn made a double substitution with Sam Jones and Charlie Taylor coming on for Joe McCann and Nathan Turner. Jones instantly tried his luck with a decent effort from long range.

Baxendale fired a free-kick into the mid-drift of the busier Platt. With just over ten minutes remaining, Crewe made their first change of the night with Luke George replacing Cooke, who had worked tirelessly for the cause on the left flank.

In the closing minutes, Stephens warmed the hands of Jones with a snap shot from the edge of the penalty area. Aidan White was never afraid to join in the attacks for the home side and after being granted too much space from a free-kick he again failed to hit the target from 20 yards out.

Crewe had to show some real resilience in their defending, dealing with high balls into our box and relying on Platt to come and collect or punch a few of them. Crewe deserved their clean-sheet for effort alone.