Daniel Farke has moved to praise Dominic Calvert-Lewin despite the striker enduring a Leeds United debut to forget.

Leeds United’s Carabao Cup campaign fell at the first hurdle for a second successive season after they were embarrassed by Sheffield Wednesday.

The troubled Owls played in front of a near-empty Hillsborough amid fan protests and deployed a starting XI littered with youngsters, but still deserved to advance to the third round.

Jamal Lowe gave the hosts the lead thanks to a Karl Darlow error, but it looked as if Daniel Farke’s side would turn it around when Jayden Bogle levelled the score.

Leeds pressed for a winner, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin having a hat-trick of chances, but the game finished level.

It went straight to penalties and with Joel Piroe, Calvert-Lewin and Sean Longstaff all missing from the spot, the Whites lost 3-0 after failing to score in a shootout for the first time in their history.

Calvert-Lewin’s stunning miss, high over the bar and into orbit, was the nadir and it came after he missed several good opportunities.

However, Farke was pleased with his 30-minute cameo and is certain Calvert-Lewin will finish those chances when he’s fully fit.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin holds his hands on his hips in Leeds United debut.Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images

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Daniel Farke backs Dominic Calvert-Lewin to find the back of the net

Speaking to Sky Sports after the defeat, Farke revealed he was ‘happy’ with Calvert-Lewin’s all-round performance off the bench.

He said: “Three chances he had during the game and two at least he scores, but I’m happy he has the shots, that he has movement, that he shows this instinct again.

“For him, it’s a little bit like a pre-season. I’m happy that he has the chance and I know that a top fit, 100% Calvert-Lewin use this chance but he needs desperately the minutes today to build up his fitness.”

After being released by Everton in the summer, Calvert-Lewin hasn’t played any pre-season minutes and the cameo was his first time he’s played more than 15 minutes since January 19.

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Calvert-Lewin knows he must do better, says Christiansen

Speaking after the game, Sky Sports pundit Izzy Christiansen moved to Calvert-Lewin’s defence by explaining the chances he did have weren’t quite as clear-cut.

While she says the striker knew he should have done better with his first of three, the other two he was stopped by good defending.

She said: “I think this one here, he sees it late, but this is the sort of chance you think, he did say there, Daniel Farke that a fit, firing Calvert-Lewin might convert, but I don’t really think there’s much more he can do and he knows it.

“This second chance, the recovering defender does really well, I think the defender gets a little touch on it here and it actually moves the ball further away.

“This one here is the one he might not have been expecting, there’s a nick on the ball and again [Ethan] Horvath did really well to get to it and they clear the lines.

“It’s a match minute cameo, 25 minutes under the belt for a player who struggled to gain consistency but overall he’ll know deep down he’ll want to do better.”