Where will James Trafford keep his Boyle Sports Cup 2026 man-of-the-match award?The trophy is a made-up gimmick for a gambling company, which holds no status in football, but the individual gong can at least be a fond reminder of Trafford’s first 45 minutes with Leeds United.It may still be in the Croke Park dressing room. Perhaps it will become a doorstop at his home? Something for the windowsill in his downstairs toilet, maybe? Wherever he chooses, there are a great many footballers who have had worse debuts than Trafford’s.It’s not the trophy Trafford moved to Elland Road for, but it is an acknowledgement of how well he played in one half to prove he was better than any of the other 41 players in Dublin on Wednesday night. He did not even need to save a Manchester United penalty or two in the shootout, which eventually decided this 1-1 contest.There is an understandable clamour to see club-record signings in the flesh at the earliest opportunity. The Leeds fans on Croke Park’s Hill 16 behind Trafford’s goal would have been delighted to see him on just his second day in the job.Goalkeepers rely far less on their fitness than their outfield team-mates, but with only one session behind him after a delayed start to pre-season, his debut was far from a certainty in Dublin. Manager Daniel Farke, speaking to reporters, including The Athletic, post-match, acknowledged the medical department held its breath on Trafford’s dive into the deep end.“(It was) good for him to fire up on the enthusiasm of being a new signing,” he said. “I was a bit unsure in the beginning because he’s just with us since yesterday (Tuesday).“He just had the first training session yesterday and a light activation session this morning, but he was so desperate to play. We just have two games and need the connection.“(The) medical department was really concerned about whether we should do this. But I took over the responsibility, and once a top-class player wants to play football, I don’t stand in the way too much. The first half was good for his confidence.”The England international will get fitter and play better from this point, but even in a friendly, there were several notes of encouragement. Trafford’s confidence is what stood out at first.The 23-year-old has not got to where he is in the game without self-belief. From early in the match, despite virtually no time in training to build a connection with the centre-backs, Trafford was comfortable venturing far out of his penalty area.While Sebastiaan Bornauw was staying wide on the right of the back three, Trafford came out to split Tarik Muharemovic and Jaka Bijol, offering them a passing option. There were even a few early exchanges where he stood with the ball at his feet, 10 yards outside his area, baiting the opposition press and drawing boos from Manchester United supporters.This confidence was seen in the vocal role he was happy to take on. Not only was his advanced position helping for passing angles, but it also gave him a better vantage point from which to bark instructions at his team-mates. Dictating play on day two.There were signs of nascent leadership in Trafford. He barely knows any of his team-mates, but on what was a difficult evening for youngster Rhys Chadwick, Trafford made a point of patting the makeshift wing-back when he put a good tackle in on Amad.Even when more than half the team was celebrating Brenden Aaronson’s equaliser with him, Trafford was taking that opportunity to pass on feedback to Bornauw and Ao Tanaka. His gestures suggested he was asking them to do something better as the team was building out from the back.There was the vision and technique needed for a pass or two on show, too. In the eighth minute, he struck a beautiful long pass deep into the opposition half and found Chadwick on a sixpence. Then, in the 24th minute, as Aaronson went looking for a counter-attack, Trafford threw the ball into the opposition half, finding the American perfectly.Critically, there were good saves from Trafford as well. The other stuff is welcome, and necessary in the modern game, but his job is to keep the ball out of the net.Diogo Dalot had the game’s first chance of note. Trafford saw his drilled effort all the way and patted it down before gathering at the second opportunity. There was a better one six minutes later, as the Leeds No 1 had to get down quickly to his left to deny Joshua Zirkzee from 17 yards.Ten minutes later it was Trafford’s fingertips keeping Bryan Mbeumo out. He would later be beaten by the Cameroonian, who crashed a shot off the bar which Trafford could not get hands on.“Everyone could see why we signed him,” said Farke. “He’s not in full fitness, but he looked sharp and quick and had a good presence on the pitch and was good with his feet.“We are all happy to have him. It’s good he came through the game without an injury. He has the first 45 minutes under his belt.“We’ll use the next few days to work further with him and then, hopefully, he can prove, when the real stuff starts, what a big signing for us he could be.”