STANLEY manager James Beattie hailed his players after they gave Leeds a scare before going out of the Capital One Cup on Tuesday night.

Leeds looked set for an easy passage into the second round after a clinical first-half brace by Souleymane Doukara.

But at half-time the Reds switched from 4-4-2 to 5-3-2, with full-backs Adam Buxton and Jordan Mustoe pushing forward whenever possible.

They deservedly pulled a goal back with six minutes left through James Gray before substitute Will Hatfield missed a great chance to make it 2-2 and force the tie into extra-time.

"The spirit that these boys have, to play like that against a Championship team, is magnificent, and I'm very proud of them," said Beattie.

“The second half was a magnificent effort from the boys. We tweaked with the formation, tried to match Leeds up and I thought we were better than them second half.

“It was just unfortunate that we went in 2-0 down. We’ve got to learn to play in the right areas. When you come to places like this and get dispossessed in the wrong areas then they’re going to punish you.

“Hopefully it’s a lesson learned and it won’t happen too many times again – if ever. I’ll never fault their effort, but the way that effort’s applied sometimes needs adjusting.”

Kal Naismith was caught in possession in the build-up to Leeds' second goal and the winger was replaced at half-time by a third centre-half, Rob Atkinson.

That shored up the Reds' defence before Buxton and Mustoe gradually managed to push forward, creating more chances for Stanley in the second half. 

"I speak to the lads about game management and how the power shifts from one team to another," Beattie explained.

"I sensed almost immediately in the second half that we were gaining momentum and I wanted the lads to feed on it and thrive on it. I felt it on the sideline and they need to learn to raise their game when they feel that.

"They certainly did that tonight and I've nothing but admiration for that second-half performance."

Hatfield had another late chance, with Atkinson's knock down going just over his head, while Gray twice went close to claiming a last-gasp equaliser which would have stunned the Elland Road crowd.

“We had them on the ropes," Beattie added. "Their legs seemed to run out with 15 minutes to go and our lads seemed to get stronger.

"That comes off the back of that momentum I talked about. Seeing that you’ve got a foothold in the game and you’re dominating, you get that extra ounce of energy from somewhere. That's what happened tonight.

"We played some great stuff. When we shift the ball one and two touch, we're a good side. If we don't do that we're not so good.

"We're trying to do that as much as we can and we did that more often than not in the second half."