Leeds United's U23s have found it tough this season, going several games in succession without tasting victory across all competitions.
However, it appears the side have turned a corner of late, beating Wigan Athletic U23s and Derby County's youth side in the space of four days.
A key reason for the youngsters' poor run of form has been the injuries to first-team players and subsequent promotion of several U23s to senior affairs.
As a result, this has left the U23 squad padded out by U18 players, however two in particular have come in for praise from their manager Mark Jackson.
Following consecutive wins over Wigan and Derby, Jackson was asked by LeedsLive his opinion on U18 defensive duo Jeremiah Mullen and Joe Littlewood who have deputised at centre-half.
U23s captain Charlie Cresswell has been ruled out until next month with a shoulder injury, while Nohan Kenneh - another centre-back - has only just returned to action and therefore has seen his minutes limited, as well as being asked to play in defensive midfield.
Kris Moore is another option at the heart of defence, but he has been required at right-back in recent fixtures.
"Credit to them both [Mullen and Littlewood], last two games I think they've been a really strong pairing, both U18s players, both shown in the last two games they can compete at this level.
"Credit to them for that, they've got their head round it and are taking a chance when the opportunity comes, another strong performance today and a clean sheet as well, which the team can be proud of," Jackson said.
Littlewood was booked during the first half in the 2-0 win over the young Rams, but saw out the game timing his defensive interventions well to avoid picking up a second yellow card.
Jeremiah Mullen was tasked with the man-marking job on 6ft 5in Derby striker Bartosz Cybulski during Monday evening's game, keeping the imposing forward quiet for the most part.
The Scotland U19 international also demonstrated his capabilities carrying the ball out of defence in the 2-1 Premier League Cup win over Wigan last Friday.
"I used the result from the first-team as well, and the feeling that they had down there at West Ham because a lot of the players were involved in the squad and on the bench," Jackson added.
"I said, 'you've got to capture that feeling you had after the game on Friday and capture the feeling we experienced which would have been the feeling in the dressing room after the West Ham game and utilise that tonight to go out and give a positive performance', and I thought they did that."
Mullen does not turn 18 until June, while Littlewood celebrated his 18th birthday at the turn of the New Year, making them one of the youngest centre-back pairings to register a clean sheet in PL2 this season.
Leeds United's next U23 fixture is away to Blackburn Rovers at the Lancashire FA County Ground on Monday January 24.
