3 January in the FA Cup. He was at the heart of Leeds' midfield in the 2–2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in the next round of the FA Cup. He missed the cup replay through injury, and returned to the bench against Carlisle United in the Football League Trophy Northern Final second leg. He came on as a second-half substitute and helped Leeds win the match 3–2, making the score 4–4 on aggregate. The match went to penalties: Kilkenny converted his kick but Leeds lost 6–5. Kilkenny came back into the starting line-up for the next game against Leyton Orient after fully recovering from his injury. By the time Leeds equalised, via a 95th-minute own goal, Kilkenny had been substituted. He played an instrumental part as Leeds were promoted to the Football League Championship after finishing second in League One and thus earning automatic promotion. 2010–11 season Kilkenny scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season with a penalty in the League Cup match against Lincoln City. He made several assists for Leeds in the first few weeks of the season, including two, for Jonny Howson and Davide Somma, in Leeds' 5–2 defeat against Barnsley. After being ever-present for Leeds, Kilkenny was named on the bench for the game against Sheffield United. In November, Kilkenny entered negotiations with Leeds over extending his contract amid interest from other clubs. Kilkenny said in December that he was keen to sign a new contract with Leeds. Kilkenny was named in Australia's final 23-man squad for the 2011 Asian Cup in January 2011, so would miss a month of Leeds' season; he said he was "gutted" to be missing the FA Cup tie against his old club Arsenal. In January he repeated his desire to stay with Leeds, He returned from international duty to be named on the bench against Hull City. He scored his first league goal of the season with a "spectacular 20-yard shot" against Preston North End. At the end of the season, it became clear that club and player were unlikely to agree terms on a new contract, and on 26 May, manager Simon Grayson said that neither Kilkenny nor his agent had responded to the club's offer and he was "keen to move on" in terms of planning for next season. Kilkenny said that despite speculation linking him with a move to the Australian A-League, he wanted "to play