-
Manchester City U18s	1-0	Manchester United U18s

Benali 84

-

-

 
In a very tense derby match at Platt Lane this morning, very little separated the two teams until City snatched a late goal to win the game and complete the double over their United counterparts. The Reds largely matched their table-topping local rivals but couldn’t find a way past Clegg in the City goal, the hosts ultimately making Paul McGuinness’ side pay with the only goal of the match from Ahmed Benali, a strike that ended United’s impressive unbeaten away record.

As has generally been the case of late, the side McGuinness named had a youthful look about it – Tom Thorpe returning to the starting lineup after a couple of games away and boosting the number of U16s in the team to three (Ravel Morrison and Ryan Tunnicliffe the other of course). Up front, Josh King was handed a first competitive start for the academy, while Davide Petrucci was brought back in to support the Norwegian. With Matt James on the bench (along with Kiko Macheda), Oliver Norwood continued to wear the captain’s armband.

Joshua King - a long overdue first U18 start

United had the best of the first half without really putting the City keeper under any pressure. The approach play was of the usual class but with Macheda watching from the sidelines, the cutting edge wasn’t quite there – one goalline clearance from Cunningham aside, the Reds never really looked like taking the lead. Indeed, the best chance of the half probably fell to Cunningham, who spooned a shot wide when well-placed inside the United area.

The second half belonged to City and it felt just a matter of time before they created something concrete.
Their breakthrough came with ten minutes to go, when a cross from the left found Benali, and after controlling the ball, he beat Joe Dudgeon and put the ball past the despairing Conor Devlin.

United upped the tempo in a bid to get something from the game and nearly equalised with a fine volley from Norwood, Clegg making an outstanding save from the Reds midfielder. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be for McGuinness’ men, and defeat not only ended the Reds’ impressive undefeated away record but also effectively put paid to any slim hopes of mounting a challenge for the Group C title – City’s nine-point lead surely too much now to overhaul.

Regardless, this was a strong showing by the young Reds. Deserving a point and feeling extremely unlucky to lose is in stark contrast to the 5-0 hammering City dished out in the equivalent fixture last season, and – coming on the back of the 2-0 reverse at Carrington in December where the Reds again were probably worthy of a share of the spoils on the balance of play – matching Jim Cassell’s significantly older and more physical Blues side is greatly encouraging.

 
UNITED
1. Conor Devlin
2. Ryan Tunnicliffe
3. Joe Dudgeon
4. Tom Thorpe
5. Scott Wootton
6. Oliver Norwood (c)
7. Nicky Ajose
8. Ravel Morrison
9. Joshua King (15. Federico Macheda 73)
10. Davide Petrucci
11. Robbie Brady (14. Chris Curran 77)

Subs not used
12. Oliver Gill
13. Gary Woods
16. Matt James

	-
Bolton Wanderers U18s	0-5	Manchester United U18s

-	-	Brandão 15
-	-	Curran 56
-	-	King 77, 80
-	-	Norwood 85

 
United’s under-18 side continued their impressive and goal-laden start to 2009 with a resounding win over near-neighbours Bolton at Wanderers’ Lostock Farm academy base this morning. Despite dominating possession and practically camping in the home side’s half right from kick-off, the Reds only had Evandro Brandão’s fine early strike to show for their efforts and dominance at half-time, but Paul McGuinness’ charges rectified that in the second half, adding goals from Chris Curran, skipper Oliver Norwood and a quickfire brace from Josh King, the Norwegian’s first academy league goals for the club.

More to follow…

UNITED
1. Conor Devlin
2. Kenny Strickland (15. Ryan Tunnicliffe 70)
3. Joe Dudgeon
4. Scott Wootton
5. Oliver Gill
6. Oliver Norwood (c)
7. Chris Curran
8. Robbie Brady
9. Evandro Brandão (16. Joshua King 46)
10. Nicky Ajose
11. Cameron Stewart (14. Ra’vel Morrison 70)

Subs not used
12. Davide Petrucci
13. Gary Woods

	-
Manchester United U18s	3-2	Everton U18s

Morrison 17, 89	-	Craig 61
Ajose 51	-	????? 79

 
UNITED
1. Conor Devlin
2. Kenny Strickland (12. Scott Moffatt 58)
3. Joe Dudgeon
4. Scott Wootton
5. Oliver Gill
6. Oliver Norwood (c)
7. Cameron Stewart (14. Chris Curran 70)
8. Ryan Tunnicliffe
9. Evandro Brandão (15. Joshua King 58)
10. Ra’vel Morrison
11. Nicky Ajose

Subs not used
13. Gary Woods

	-
Manchester United U18s	4-1	West Bromwich Albion U18s

Petrucci 29, 74	-	Lake-Gaskin (pen) 53
Norwood 31	-	-
Ajose 55	-	-

UNITED
1. Conor Devlin
2. Kenny Strickland
3. Joe Dudgeon
4. Tom Thorpe
5. Scott Wootton
6. Oliver Norwood (c)
7. Nick Ajose
8. Ryan Tunnicliffe
9. Evandro de Caravlho Brandäo (16. Joshua King 69)
10. Davide Petrucci
11. Robbie Brady (15. Cameron Stewart 11 (14. Ra’vel Morrison 69))

Sub not used
12. Oliver Gill

When I say it was a youthful reserve side, that was because it was pretty much the first choice academy XI. The U18s resume their league campaign with the visit of West Bromwich Albion to Carrington on Saturday morning, so this hastily-arranged friendly was handy match practice for Paul McGuinness’ squad. Newcastle Town were grateful for the game as well after seeing their North West Counties Premier League fixture called off at the weekend, and welcomed a United side for the fourth game between the two clubs in recent years.

United started brightly and opened the scoring after 13 minutes, Robbie Brady applying the finish after a fine run from Davide Petrucci. Fifteen minutes later, Joe Dudgeon broke forward and scored a rare goal to give United a two goal cushion. Kiko Macheda made it three six minutes before the break, finishing at the second attempt, and United were well on top as the whistle blew for half-time.

Nick Ajose came on for Cameron Stewart at half-time and nine minutes after the break, McGuinness took the opportunity of giving a couple of the U16 lads a run out. Sam Johnstone came on to replace Conor Devlin in goal while Tom Thorpe took the place of Scott Wootton at the heart of the defence. Just after the hour mark Brady got his second of the evening, again assisted by Petrucci, and three minutes later the young Dubliner completed his hattrick after terrific work by skipper Matt James. Brady’s ability in front of goal was part of the reason United signed the winger last January but before last night he had yet to find the net for the Reds – hopefully this treble will open the floodgates.

Match-ball secured (metaphorically at least), Brady was replaced by the returning Cameron Stewart for the last twenty or so minutes. Newcastle Town grabbed a consolation with a quarter of an hour remaining, Smith’s quickly taken free-kick catching Johnstone off guard, but Stewart then made the most of his second spell on the pitch, completing the rout with the sixth and seventh United goals in quick succession, using his pace to get in behind the defence and beat the keeper one-on-one on both occasions.

7-1 it finished, great preparation for the resumption of the Academy League campaign this coming weekend and another enjoyable meeting with Newcastle Town, whose continued warm hospitality should ensure regular visits from United sides to the Lyme Valley Stadium in the future.

 
UNITED
1. Conor Devlin (13. Sam Johnstone 54)
2. Ryan Tunnicliffe
3. Joe Dudgeon
4. Kenny Strickland
5. Scott Wootton (14. Tom Thorpe 54)
6. Oliver Norwood
7. Cameron Stewart (12. Nick Ajose 46)
8. Matt James
9. Federico Macheda
10. Davide Petrucci
11. Robbie Brady (7. Cameron Stewart 68)

SCORERS: Brady 13, 64, 67, Dudgeon 28, Macheda 39, Stewart 83, 85

	-
Liverpool U18s	1-3	Manchester United U18s

Dalla Valle 65	-	Norwood 22
-	-	Macheda 40
-	-	Morrison 78

 
After consecutive home defeats against Chelsea and Manchester City, United’s U18s could have been forgiven for being a tad apprehensive about having to travel to Merseyside to face a Liverpool side with a 100% home record in their last fixture before the Christmas break. As it turned out, the Reds put in their best performance of the season to comfortably dispatch their scouse rivals and finish 2008 on a high. First half strikes from Ollie Norwood and Kiko Macheda gave United a commanding half-time lead, and although Liverpool briefly rallied and pulled one back through Lauri Dalla Valle, the again-impressive Ra’vel Morrison restored the two-goal advantage and secured victory, the 3-1 scoreline seriously flattering the home side.

Following those two successive defeats, Paul McGuinness rang the changes. Conor Devlin came in for Gary Woods in goal, while the back four was rejigged with Kenny Strickland shifting to right-back and Oliver Gill dropping to the bench – in their place at the heart of the defence was a new partnership of Scott Wootton, playing his former club, and U16 captain Tom Thorpe, making his first U18 appearance. Ryan Tunnicliffe replaced Matt James in midfield (the skipper benched with Monday’s reserve game in mind), with Morrison returning to the side in place of Cameron Stewart on the right flank. The only area of the team to remain intact was the Italian attacking pairing of Macheda and Davide Petrucci.

As in last week’s defeat to City, United started well and threatened to take an early lead, but also came close to falling behind. Tunnicliffe and Petrucci both gave Liverpool keeper Bouzanis cause for concern inside the first ten minutes but the clearest opening fell to the home side, winger David Amoo somehow conspiring to hit the post from six yards out with all the time in the world to pick his spot with his volleyed effort.

That was some let-off for the Reds and they made the most of it, seizing control of the game and, crucially, getting the vital breakthrough that never came last week at Carrington. That breakthrough came in some style as well, another fantastic goal for stand-in captain Norwood, who just doesn’t score unspectacular ones. The United midfielder exchanged passes with Tunnicliffe twice, the speed and one-touch nature of the duo’s passing opening up the Liverpool midfield and presenting Norwood with the chance to strike at goal from 20 yards out. Much to the surprise of Bouzanis and most in attendance, that strike came in the form of a sublimely measured chip which wrong-footed the Aussie keeper and left him grasping at thin air.

Oliver Norwood - doesn't do tap-ins

The hosts were reeling and United sought to press home their advantage. Morrison skimmed the bar and then went even closer with a shot that rebounded off the post and somehow wasn’t put into the empty net as it travelled back across the face of goal. Macheda was presented with a glorious headed chance from a Norwood corner and could only head straight at Bouzanis, and that was the sort of opportunity you fear you might end up regretting. It only took three minutes for the Italian frontman to make sure that wasn’t the case.

Bouzanis contributed towards his side’s downfall, shanking a clearance so that it fell to the alert Petrucci thirty yards out. There was still plenty of work to do but the ensuing few seconds of play showed the Reds’ Italian duo at their absolute best, Petrucci beautifully controlling the loose ball, drawing the defender and playing the blind pass to Macheda, who had brilliantly got back onside. Kiko proceeded to fend off the attentions of the Liverpool defence and coolly slide the ball under Bouzanis’ despairing dive, giving the Reds a 2-0 lead at half-time which was the very least they deserved for their endeavours in the first 45 minutes.

The second half promised more of the same, United picking up where they left off and going for the kill. Morrison, Norwood, Macheda and Brady all tested or worried Bouzanis and it seemed that it would only be a matter of time before the decisive third goal would come, but – as so often happens in that sort of situation – it eventually came down the other end. Liverpool won a corner against the run of play, and their giant centre-half Kennedy got up well at the far post to nod down for the lurking Lauri Dalla Valle to prod home.

Game on, and you could have forgiven this young United side if the nerves had started to kick in at that point, with 25 minutes still to play. The Reds weren’t about to let such a dominant performance go to waste however, and as normal service resumed and the play remained predominantly inside the Liverpool half, it became clear that the home side’s goal was little more than a blip and that if there was to be another goal, it was far more likely to be the clincher for United than an undeserved equaliser. Cue some terrific link-up play between Norwood and Macheda and an inch-perfect throughball from the Italian which allowed Morrison to skip around Bouzanis and find the empty net, effectively sealing the win with a little over ten minutes to go.

Morrison picked up a knock in the process of scoring and was replaced by Cameron Stewart for the last ten minutes, a period which saw little real action as United contented themselves with a job well done and Liverpool had neither the means or the spirit to mount any sort of late comeback.

One of the most impressive performances from United’s academy side in recent memory, it’s hard to single out individuals as the whole team impressed. If pushed, special mention has to go to Tom Thorpe, remarkably assured on debut and clearly a player of real promise. Going forward, Macheda, Petrucci and Morrison all linked up superbly and Tunnicliffe and Norwood dominated the midfield – Robbie Brady deserves praise also for a really unsung, unselfish performance on the left wing.

All in all, a great way to finish 2008 and all the more reason to anticipate a prosperous 2009.

 
UNITED
1. Conor Devlin
2. Kenny Strickland
3. Joe Dudgeon
4. Tom Thorpe
5. Scott Wootton
6. Oliver Norwood (c)
7. Ra’vel Morrison (14. Cameron Stewart 80)
8. Ryan Tunnicliffe
9. Federico Macheda
10. Davide Petrucci
11. Robbie Brady (12. Nicky Ajose 74)

Booked: Macheda, Norwood

	-
Manchester United U18s	0-2	Manchester City U18s

-	-	Ibrahim 35
-	-	Mak 39

 
United’s Academy side came into this morning’s derby match with their table-topping neighbours looking to bounce back from last week’s demoralising Youth Cup exit at the hands of Chelsea, but there was an unshakeable sense of deja vu at Carrington as the Reds shaded the first half only to switch off at the back and allow the Blues to score two quick goals before the interval. Goals from Abdisalam Ibrahim and Robbie Mak in the space of four minutes once again left the Reds with a mountain the climb and, despite dominating possession and having a perfectly good Ryan Tunnicliffe goal ruled out for offside, United couldn’t break down their visitors. In a game that progressively got more and more niggly, Paul McGuinness’ side were somewhat lucky to finish the game with a full compliment of players after Kiko Macheda somehow escaped a red card for an apparent headbutt.

McGuinness made three changes to the side from the game against Chelsea, the two goalscorers – Ra’vel Morrison and Danny Welbeck – making way, replaced by Cameron Stewart and Davide Petrucci, while Kenny Strickland came in for Scott Wootton in the centre of defence. With the reserves having fixtures called off left, right and centre at the minute, Corry Evans, Anton Bryan and Magnus Eikrem were included on the bench as over-age players with a view to getting them some much-needed games.

The first half was an even affair, with City showing all the organisation and physical superiority that sees them comfortably top of Premier Academy League Group C, striker Alex Nimely in particular showing they’re not lacking when it comes to flair and ability either. It was Nimely who came closest to opening the scoring early on, Ryan Tunnicliffe clearing his goalbound effort off the line. United more than matched their visitors in the first 35 minutes though and probably fashioned the better chances, Macheda going close on a couple of occasions and the unlikely figure of Kenny Strickland forcing a fine save with a rasping drive from 25 yards out.

Unfortunately, as against Chelsea, the Reds mentally appeared to be tucking into the half-time oranges and taking a breather when there were still five more minutes left before the interval, and a side of City’s quality (you don’t hear that said often…) is going to punish that lack of concentration. The breakthrough goal came from what looked like a fairly harmless lofted ball into the box, but it’s only harmless if the defenders are switched on, and on this occasion they certainly weren’t, several of them guilty of ball-watching as the Blues’ giant midfield player Abdisalam Ibrahim rose completely unchallenged to nod past a helpless Gary Woods.

If that wasn’t disappointing enough, United’s opponents followed that up with another strike in quick succession, again as happened against Chelsea. Nimely’s strike partner Robbie Mak recieved the ball 30-35 yards out with no immediate danger obvious, but the Slovakian left the over-committed Oliver Gill for dead with a neat turn before advancing on goal. With no challenge forthcoming from a shaky United defence, Mak had all the time in the world to pick his spot and fire a powerful low drive past Woods to double City’s lead.

Gill was replaced by Corry Evans at half-time as McGuinness looked to shore up the Reds’ backline, although the United rearguard wasn’t unduly tested in the second 45 as City were content to sit on their lead and keep an increasingly frustrated home side at bay. The second half could have panned out very differently had Ryan Tunnicliffe’s tap-in after a surging run from deep not been incorrectly ruled out for offside, but the longer the game wore on without United clawing something back, the less likely it looked to happen. Nick Ajose and Anton Bryan were thrown on to offer something different in attack and threatened sporadically, but the closest the game came to seeing a third goal was at the ‘wrong’ end as far as the Red half of Manchester was concerned, Nimely again seeing a shot cleared off the line after Woods was harshly penalised for supposedly handling the ball outside the area.

0-2 it finished, perhaps a harsh result on the balance of play but more to the point another harsh lesson to the Reds’ crop of young defenders on the importance of concentrating for the full ninety minutes. Macheda will also need to learn from this game after somehow escaping a red card late on – City’s Benali needlessly confronted the Italian forward after a nothing challenge and Kiko responded to the provocation, moving his head as if to butt the Blues’ defender. No contact was made but Benali went down like the proverbial sack of spuds, and we’ve seen in the past at senior level (Ronaldo at Fratton Park most notably) that intent is all that is needed to draw a red card from the referee. Surprisingly in this case, especially as the ref had a decent view, Macheda got away with only a yellow card (Benali getting one too for his pathetic simulation), but will need to learn to control his temper and not show opposition players that they can get him into trouble and put him off his game by provoking him.
 

UNITED
1. Gary Woods
2. Ryan Tunnicliffe
3. Joe Dudgeon
4. Kenny Strickland
5. Oliver Gill (16. Corry Evans 46)
6. Matt James (c)
7. Cameron Stewart (12. Nick Ajose 77)
8. Oliver Norwood
9. Federico Macheda (15. Anton Bryan 83)
10. Davide Petrucci
11. Robbie Brady

Booked: Macheda

	-
Manchester United U18s	2-3	Chelsea U18s

Morrison 8	-	Kakuta 42
Welbeck 89	-	Nouble 45
-	-	Borini 84

After last year’s disappointing fourth round FA Youth Cup exit against Carlisle United, United’s U18s were desperate to mount a serious challenge for the trophy this season and to overcome a perilous third round draw that paired them with last year’s finalists Chelsea. The players and coaching staff will go to bed tonight (and will probably wake up tomorrow) wondering just how they will not be in the hat when the draw for the fourth round is made.

Missed chances and defensive lapses were the story of the night as a game United led through Ra’vel Morrison’s early goal and dominated for the first 42 minutes was spectacularly turned on its head by two Chelsea goals in three minutes before half-time. Those strikes (from Gäel Kakuta and Frank Nouble) left the Reds with a mountain to climb, one that eventually became unclimbable when Fabio Borini netted a killer third goal for the Blues on the counter attack. Danny Welbeck’s late effort gave the Reds hope but it wasn’t to be, and for the second straight season Paul McGuinness is left with the task of picking up the pieces after a desperately disappointing early exit from the Youth Cup.

McGuinness’ starting lineup saw Davide Petrucci, star man in the weekend’s win at Blackburn, surprisingly left on the subs bench as Danny Welbeck was brought in for his first Academy game since January as a strike partner for Kiko Macheda. McGuinness opted for the more natural width offered by Morrison and Robbie Brady, rather than including Petrucci in an unfamiliar wide role. At the back, Oliver Gill and Scott Wootton were the chosen centre-back partnership, while Ryan Tunnicliffe got the nod at right-back.

The Reds started off on the front foot and fashioned a golden chance for Welbeck within the first few minutes. Oliver Norwood’s through ball found the Longsight-born striker, 18 yesterday, in acres of space behind the back four and he wasn’t going to be caught. Unfortunately the teenager was gripped by indecision and in the end seemed to take so long deciding whether to chip the keeper or take it round him that he was engulfed by defenders and ultimately robbed by Chelsea keeper Heimann. A disappointing end result but the ease with which the visitors’ defence was breached was hugely encouraging and a sign of things to come.

Just five minutes later United did have the lead. Macheda did well to flick Norwood’s ball on with his head but it looked like Chelsea right-back Ahmed would just get to the loose ball first and clear. Morrison had other ideas, sneaking in to pinch a ball he had no real right getting to before coolly side-footing the ball past Heimann for his third goal of the season, further adding to his burgeoning reputation.

The home side were oozing with confidence at this stage, never seriously looking under threat from a willing but somewhat toothless Chelsea attack while controlling possession in key areas of the pitch and looking a constant threat in attacking areas. Welbeck and Morrison roamed the pitch seemingly with no other instruction than to cause havoc, Macheda worked harder than he probably ever has before to deny the Chelsea defenders any space while Brady was having his best game yet in United red. Unfortunately his game was to end prematurely, the young Dubliner forced from the field just after the half-hour mark by injury. Cameron Stewart was his replacement.

At around the same time, the Reds had another golden chance to add to their lead, Morrison again at the heart of things. The England schoolboy international got in behind the Chelsea defence once more and bore down on Heimann, proceeding to then twist the Blues’ German stopper into knots with a series of feints and spins in a bid to engineer a clearer shooting opportunity. Eventually the 15 year-old laid the ball off to the late-arriving Matt James, whose shot was blocked on the goalline and sat up awkwardly for Morrison, who could only volley over. The youngster’s coolness and obvious ability was a joy to watch, but you couldn’t help wishing he’d maybe got a shot away earlier before defenders in blue were able to get back to save the day.

Nonetheless, at that point the notion that such profligacy could end up costing the Reds seemed an unlikely one, such was United’s control of the match. Football has a way of laughing in the face of any such complacency though and, sure enough, from coasting at 1-0 up as the clock ticked towards 42 minutes, United’s U18s found themselves heading down the tunnel at the interval 2-1 down.

First Norwood’s pass was intercepted by the impressive Philliskirk, whose floated ball to the back post exposed some sloppy United marking and allowing the lurking Kakuta to instinctively toe-poke the Blues level. At that point you just wanted the Reds to get to the break with the scores level – they’d be disappointed but it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Unfortunately, more sloppiness at the back meant they couldn’t manage that. Gill’s terrible pass out from the back (or attempted clearance, it was hard to tell) gave Philliskirk the ball once again, the Chelsea captain again having an age to pick a pass. He found Nouble on the edge of the box, who needed no invitation to unleash a venomous left-footed drive that gave Gary Woods no chance.

Two moments of slack concentration and the young Reds had well and truly had the wind taken from their sails. Premier League teams would struggle to get their heads around such a turnaround, let alone a team of under-18s, most of whom were playing in a stadium like Old Trafford for the first time, and that showed in the way United started the second half. The players looked shell-shocked, the confidence that had flowed throughout the team for the first forty minutes seemingly (and understandably) having completely drained away.

Danny Welbeck - third career FAYC goal just a consolation

Gradually, the Reds started to adjust to the task that now faced them and began to once more pose a threat to the Chelsea goal. A brilliantly incisive move involving Welbeck, Macheda and Morrison saw James force a terrific double save from Heimann, while a terrific piece of individual skill from Welbeck was sadly not quite match by his chipped finish as Heimann dived at his feet. The Reds seemed to be edging closer and closer towards a deserved equaliser, which made the third Chelsea goal all the harder to take.

It came, somewhat predictably, on the counter-attack, Jacob Mellis finding space down the right. His first attempt at a cross was blocked, his second was even worse but Dudgeon’s attempted clearance was weak and fell to Borini just outside the box. Momentary hesitation from all red-shirted players in the vicinity inexplicably followed, allowing Borini to fire across goal into the far corner with Woods completely unsighted.

That was the game as good as over. Two goals in six minutes plus stoppages was of course doable, but Borini’s goal was a hammer blow. Credit to the Reds, they kept on trying – substitutes Petrucci and Ajose (on for Norwood and Macheda) looked particularly full of running, the former going close with a speculative effort. All Chelsea had to do was avoid any calamities and see out the game, but with the clock approaching the end of the ninety minutes, Blues defender Jeffrey Bruma suffered a lapse of his own that breathed some life back into the contest.

Ajose latched onto Petrucci’s inch-perfect pass, tore past Rohan Ince on the left-wing before checking back inside and firing across what looked to be a fairly tame centre. Bruma proceeded to slice it horrifically when attempting to clear, presenting Welbeck with the opportunity to volley home the loose ball and give United a glimmer of hope.

Alas, it was to be just a glimmer, Chelsea doing very well to either keep possession or win set pieces deep in United territory, far away from where United desperately needed the ball to be. The three minutes of stoppage time seemed to race by as red shirted players frantically tried to get hold of the ball, the full-time whistle typically going just as a break looked on. It just wasn’t to be.

UNITED
1. Gary Woods
2. Ryan Tunnicliffe
3. Joe Dudgeon
4. Scott Wootton
5. Oliver Gill
6. Matt James
7. Ra’vel Morrison
8. Oliver Norwood (14. Davide Petrucci 73)
9. Kiko Macheda (16. Nicky Ajose 82)
10. Danny Welbeck
11. Robbie Brady (15. Cameron Stewart 33)

Booked: Gill

	-
Blackburn Rovers U18s	0-4	Manchester United U18s

-	-	Petrucci 3, 27
-	-	James 35
-	-	Brandão 79 (pen)

United’s U18s warmed up for their huge FA Youth Cup clash with Chelsea this coming midweek with an emphatic win at Brockhall Village this morning, Blackburn being put to the sword in a storming first-half display that enabled the Reds to rest players and coast through the second forty-five minutes, with Thursday’s game firmly in mind. A well-taken brace from Davide Petrucci and skipper Matt James’ sixth goal of the season were enough to put the result beyond doubt by half-time, Evandro de Carvalho Brandão’s penalty ten minutes from time putting the icing on a particularly impressive cake.

The Youth Cup game may have been at the forefront of everyone’s thinking but Paul McGuinness’ team selection was that of a manager with eyes only on the immediate task at hand. First choice stopper Gary Woods returned in goal, Scott Wootton returned at the heart of defence while the creative core of the team – James, Petrucci, Oliver Norwood and Kiko Macheda – were all present and correct.

There was another start for Robbie Brady on the left wing, a position definitely still very much up for grabs, while the recent impressive form of schoolboys Ryan Tunnicliffe and Ra’vel Morrison earned them starts at right-back and right-wing respectively. On the Blackburn side of things, one point of interest was the inclusion in the starting lineup of former United schoolboy Michael Potts, who moved the short distance north earlier this year.

Just like last weekend against Bolton, McGuinness’ side didn’t take long to assert themselves on the game and convert their obvious superiority into a lead. The clock hadn’t yet reached three minutes when the deadlock was broken, the skipper starting the move. James found Macheda racing through the middle, and although a Rovers defender got back and managed to get a challenge in on the striker, the ball broke off Kiko to his fellow Italian Petrucci, who coolly found the far corner.

Davide Petrucci - first goals since August

That strike was the midfielder’s first competitive goal since August’s home win against Norwich City, which of course almost inevitably leads to the old cliché of goals being like buses – we waited a while and then two came along in quick succession. In this case Petrucci had to wait just another 24 minutes to bag his second of the game and third of the campaign. Brady and Dudgeon linked up brilliantly down the left, with the result being the United left-back finding himself in behind the back four and in acres of space. Petrucci had timed his run from midfield perfectly and arrived in the six-yard box just as Dudgeon’s low centre flashed across goal – simple tap-in, 2-0.

I said last week after the Bolton game that Petrucci had probably had his best game in a United shirt, but his first-half display at Brockhall was another step up. The 17 year-old is starting to revel in his advanced midfield role behind his compatriot Macheda and seems to be coming into a rich vein of form, encouraging with the Youth Cup in mind. His obvious confidence was shown by a sublime backheel shortly after making it 2-0 that set James up to let fly from distance, forcing a fine save from Blackburn’s keeper.

The captain wasn’t to be denied for long though. James only got his name on the scoresheet twice in the whole of last season (admittedly in part down to playing a large number of his game at centre-half) but ten minutes before the interval, he took his tally for this season to treble that. Tunnicliffe, putting in a typically energetic and committed display at right-back, picked out his run from deep with a perfect through-ball that James expertly brought down before sliding it past the onrushing keeper, against the far post, along the line and against the near post before finally hitting the back of the net.

3-0 it was at half-time and, with Blackburn offering nothing at all going forward, the three points looked secure. McGuinness certainly thought so, deciding just five minutes into the second half to withdraw the Reds’ Italian duo, as attentions turned to Thursday. Cameron Stewart and Evandro Brandão were the replacements – both worked hard and sought to impress but the second half on the whole had an element of going through the motions about it. United had their chances but there was no real flow to the game, not helped by a number of niggly challenges that saw the referee dish out six yellow cards, three to each side.

United’s were accrued by Macheda (for an earlier first-half scuffle with his marker), Brady and Morrison. Brady’s came for a challenge that was over-eager rather than malicious, but it was his second such offence in the space of five minutes and McGuinness replaced the Irishman with Nicky Ajose to prevent any further problems. Morrison’s came for a similar ‘forwards tackle’, but was the only real blot on the 15 year-old’s copybook in another display where he showed all his natural footballing ability and made a strong case for a starting berth against Chelsea.

As the second half wore on, all that really remained to be seen was whether United could bag themselves another goal or two against a by-now demoralised Rovers outfit. As it turned out, just the one further goal was added to the tally, a penalty won and converted by Brandão. Recieving the ball with his back to goal, the Portuguese was manhandled by his marker as he attempted to turn and get a shot away and the referee correctly pointed to the spot. The keeper was duly sent the wrong way as Brandão picked up his second league goal of the season.

UNITED
1. Gary Woods
2. Ryan Tunnicliffe
3. Joe Dudgeon
4. Scott Wootton
5. Oliver Gill
6. Matt James (c)
7. Ra’vel Morrison
8. Oliver Norwood
9. Federico Macheda (16. Evandro Brandão 51)
10. Davide Petrucci (15. Cameron Stewart 51)
11. Robbie Brady (14. Nicky Ajose 61)

Booked – Macheda, Brady, Morrison

	-
Manchester United U18s	4-1	Bolton Wanderers U18s

Macheda 8	-	Mooy 57
James 35, 56	-	-
Morrison 76	-	-

 
United’s U18s brushed aside near-neighbours Bolton Wanderers in a one-sided contest at Carrington this morning to pick up a first home win in the Academy League since the end of August. The destination of all three points was never in doubt from the moment Federico Macheda struck a terrific opening goal inside the first ten minutes, and further goals from skipper Matty James, Ra’vel Morrison and Bolton’s unfortunate Chris Stokes gave the Reds a resounding victory.

After resting Kenny Strickland last week, Paul McGuinness took the opportunity to give Scott Wootton a week off and to try another combination at the heart of the defence, with Strickland returning alongside Oliver Gill, Joe Dudgeon continuing in the left-back role Gill had gamely occupied early in the season. Conor Devlin replaced Gary Woods in goal and there was another start for Robbie Brady on the left wing. After his recent impressive introduction to the U18 setup, Ra’vel Morrison had to be content with a place on the bench, Cameron Stewart returning to the starting lineup on the right flank.

United started as they meant to go on, applying pressure to the visitors right from the off and gaining the upper hand immediately, Davide Petrucci going close with a well-struck volley early on. Only eight minutes had passed when the Reds backed that up with an opening goal, and what a strike it was. Petrucci pressured Bolton’s Mooy into giving the ball away 30 yards or so from his own goal, but as the ball broke to Macheda there didn’t seem to be any immediate danger. The Italian striker had other ideas, shifting the ball into space and onto his left foot before unleashing a terrific strike that keeper Brocklehurst just got a fingertip to but couldn’t keep out.

Kiko Macheda - opening goal takes him to seven for the season

Such was United’s early dominance that a rout looked on the cards, although Wanderers’ McGeechan directing a free header over the crossbar will have ensured the Reds didn’t get complacent. Bolton dug in and didn’t capitulate as it looked like they may, but all the genuine chances in the rest of the half were created by the Reds. Stewart and Macheda both forced fine saves and Gill headed just wide from a corner before United’s pressure told and a second goal arrived. Petrucci again played a key role, breaking into the box on the right hand side and tormenting his marker with some Ronaldo-esque trickery before working just enough space to pick out the late-arriving Matty James with a perfect cross. The skipper was left with the simple task of heading home (highlights of the first two goals here).

Petrucci went close with another volley in first-half injury time and McGuinness will have been very pleased with his side’s performance as they took a 2-0 lead into the break. The message for the second half will surely have been a simple ‘more of the same’, and the Reds duly obliged. After continuing to control the game after the restart, the game was more or less put to bed ten minutes into the second half with a third United goal, James’ driving right flank run and dangerous near post cross being headed past his own keeper by the unfortunate Stokes.

I say ‘more or less put to bed’ as Bolton duly went up the other end and gave themselves a possible lifeline just a minute later. A high ball into the area wasn’t cleared very far by Strickland and when Bolton returned the ball into the box, Mooy was lurking at the far post to head into the roof of the net. That lifeline was very nearly strengthened immediately from the restart as well, Mooy firing inches wide from distance with Devlin looking well beaten.

The Reds settled things down and proceeded to take the sting out of the game, keeping possession effectively and frustrating their opponents. McGuinness then took the opportunity to introduce Morrison from the bench in place of Stewart and the England schoolboy international had only been on the pitch seven minutes when he well and truly left his mark on the game. James found the young winger with a perfect through ball and, displaying staggering confidence for one so young, Morrison casually dinked the ball over the onrushing Brocklehurst – his second goal in a week and one that well and truly killed Bolton off.

Nicky Ajose got a late run-out in place of Brady and Macheda went close to adding to his season tally of seven late on, firing just wide after being played in by another superb Petrucci pass. 4-1 it finished, every bit as convincing as that makes it seem and Paul McGuinness will be very pleased with his side’s form heading into the Youth Cup clash with Chelsea at the end of the month. Joe Dudgeon looks back to his best at left-back and the defence is a significantly improved unit for that, while the midfield trio of James, Norwood and Petrucci are really starting the click, the latter probably having his best game in a United shirt this morning. Macheda continues to look a class apart at this level and the seamless way Morrison and Tunnicliffe have been integrated into the side this season is hugely encouraging.

There’s just one more academy league game before that Youth Cup tie, Blackburn away next weekend (live on MUTV) the last chance for the U18s to stake their claims for places in the side for the big match at Old Trafford. With another round of youth internationals coming up, it’s likely that a number of scholars will also get the chance to step up to reserve level over the next couple of weeks, with games against Hull and Rosenborg (behind closed doors) in the next week or so.

UNITED
1. Conor Devlin
2. Reece Brown (16. Ryan Tunnicliffe 21)
3. Joe Dudgeon
4. Kenny Strickland
5. Oliver Gill
6. Matty James (c)
7. Cameron Stewart (17. Ra’vel Morrison 69)
8. Oliver Norwood
9. Federico Macheda
10. Davide Petrucci
11. Robbie Brady (14. Nick Ajose 80)

NB: United’s third goal, originally thought to be an own goal, was credited to Matt James by the official club statistician.

	-
Everton U18s	1-1	Manchester United U18s

Sinnott 21

-

Morrison 5

 
United’s Academy side picked up another hard-earned point on their travels and maintained their unbeaten away record for this season as they travelled to Everton’s new Academy Centre at Halewood this morning and held their talented hosts to a 1-1 draw. U16s and England Schoolboys winger Ra’vel Morrison continued his promising early integration into the U18 side with United’s goal after just five minutes, the Reds being pegged back a quarter of an hour later by a Corey Sinnott header.

In extreme cold and blustery conditions, Paul McGuinness took the opportunity of introducing two U16s into the team, Ra’vel Morrison on the left side of a five man midfield and Ryan Tunnicliffe on the right. Petrucci, Norwood and James held the middle roles while there was no place on the bench at all for Nick Ajose or Cameron Stewart.

With Joe Dudgeon now fully fit, Kenny Strickland dropped to the bench and Ollie Gill was moved into central defence alongside Scott Wootton. Another U16, forward John Cofie, was also named as a substitute.

Joe Dudgeon - injury problems (touch wood) now behind him

Whatever eyebrows were raised about starting with such a young side, United fans were soon celebrating as Morrison put United ahead after only five minutes. Everton then started started to get back into the game and equalised on 21 minutes when they scored from a header on the six yard box. It was a disappointing goal to concede in what was turning out to be a very good game.

Half-time: Everton 1 Manchester United 1

The second half was fairly even and both teams had half chances without really stretching the keepers that often. McGuinness brought on Robbie Brady to replace Davide Petrucci to provide a little more threat in front of goal but the Everton defence gave him little opportunity to shine. Shortly after, Ryan Tunnicliffe, who had a fine game, picked up a knock and was replaced by Chris Curran.

The game then petered out a little with no other action to talk about, the 1-1 draw remarkably being Everton’s fifth such result in a row (and their sixth in the last seven). United will be pleased with a point from what is a always a tough away fixture against a rapidly improving Academy. The Reds are back on home turf next weekend, Bolton Wanderers the visitors to Carrington on Saturday 15th.

UNITED
1. Gary Woods
2. Reece Brown
3. Joe Dudgeon
4. Scott Wootton
5. Oliver Gill
6. Matthew James
7. Ryan Tunnicliffe (14. Chris Curran 68)
8. Oliver Norwood
9. Federico Macheda
10. Davide Petrucci (15. Robbie Brady 56)
11. Ravel Morrison

Subs not used
12. Kenny Strickland
13. Conor Devlin
16. John Cofie

Thanks to Mr MUJAC for the match report.

	-
West Bromwich Albion U18s	2-3	Manchester United U18s

Worrall	-	Macheda
Wood	-	James
-	-	Norwood

 
After being left to stew for a fortnight on the disappointment that was the home draw against Liverpool, United returned to winning ways this morning in Walsall as they recovered from going a goal behind early on to beat West Bromwich Albion by three goals to two. Kiko Macheda, Matty James and Oliver Norwood were all on target for the Reds in the first half as they overcame a side managed by former United academy player Michael Appleton.

Paul McGuinness had pretty much a full-strength squad to choose from, bar long-term injury absentee Scott Moffatt and the absent-for-unknown-reasons Conor Devlin. Joe Dudgeon continued his comeback from injury at left-back alongside the other three-quarters of the back four that has been almost a permanent fixture this season so far – Reece Brown, Kenny Strickland and Scott Wootton. The imposing trio of captain Matty James, Oliver Norwood and Davide Petrucci formed the central midfield, flanked by two wingers making their first starts of the season – Robbie Brady on the left, and – making his U18 debut – Ra’vel Morrison on the right. Kiko Macheda returned from injury to resume lone striker duties.

One other item of note regarding the team news – the substitute goalkeeper was a youngster who MUTV only identified as having the surname Chapman. No further word yet on his full identity or background.

As far as match reports go, this isn’t going to be great, simply because a) the game wasn’t shown live, b) none of United Youth’s regular correspondents attended the fixture and c) it doesn’t appear like anyone from the official site attended the game either, as the match report on manutd.com contains only brief information (hence the lack of timings for the goals and substitutions). What I can do is briefly describe the match events shown in MUTV’s highlights package…

West Brom took the lead around the ten minute mark, their right-winger beating Scott Wootton for pace as he perhaps committed himself a little too early. He then fired across a low centre that should have been knocked in by the centre-forward – he instead contrived to barely make contact, the ball slicing comically off the outside of his boot. Unfortunately for the Reds, it then fell to Baggies left-winger Worrall, who made no such mistake.

United’s response was emphatic – three goals in the space of ten minutes. First Robbie Brady hassled and harassed the West Brom defence into giving up possession, his low cross then deflecting into Petrucci’s path. The young Italian skipped past one challenge before toe-poking the ball to his compatriot Macheda, just inside the penalty area and just left of centre. With no challenge forthcoming, the Roman striker was never going to miss – he duly curled the ball cool as you like into the bottom right-hand corner to draw United level.

If that goal was a bit scrappy until the finish, there was nothing scrappy about the next two, both coming at the end of typically slick passing moves. First up Petrucci found Brady who, in turn, played in Dudgeon on the overlap – his low cross found James bursting into the area from midfield and guiding the ball home left-footed on the volley. Then came the goal of the game – more crisp passing between Petrucci, Brady and Morrison eventually saw the ball at the feet of Norwood some 25 yards out. One quick look up later and the Burnley-born midfielder was curling the ball exquisitely into the top corner and leaving the Baggies keeper motionless and powerless.

3-1 at half-time then. The second half appeared to be a tale of missed chances on both sides, United not quite managing to kill the game off and West Brom not quite managing to get back into. They did eventually reduce the arrears to just the one goal with twenty minutes to go, catching the Reds out with a swift counter – substitute striker Wood finishing smartly after a clever throughball put him in behind the defence. This prompted a late siege on the United goal, with Gary Woods required to make one blinding save with his feet to help ensure his side closed out the game and took all three points back up the road to Manchester.

UNITED
1. Gary Woods
2. Reece Brown
3. Joe Dudgeon (12. Oliver Gill)
4. Kenny Strickland
5. Scott Wootton
6. Matty James (c)
7. Ra’vel Morrison
8. Oliver Norwood
9. Federico Macheda (14. Nicky Ajose)
10. Davide Petrucci
11. Robbie Brady (16. Cameron Stewart)

Subs not used
13. Chapman
15. Chris Curran

	-
Manchester United U18s	1-1	Celtic U18s

James 76

-

Foley 53

 
Manchester United took on Glasgow Celtic at the Cliff this afternoon, with each teams Academy battling it out for junior honours before the big Champions League tie between the two clubs takes place at Old Trafford.

There is also a scheduled reserve team fixture pencilled in for the return match in Glasgow. This is not an unusual practice as United have played junior friendlies many times before European Cup ties, notably Bayer Leverkusen, Olympiakos, Sporting Lisbon, Dynamo Kiev and Celtic.

Matty James - the captain's fine form continues

United had all the usual suspects starting the game but elevated four youngsters from the U16s to take their places on the bench, including Ra’vel Morrison – who recently starred in England Schoolboys 6-0 drubbing of Northern Ireland – and Sam Johnstone – who has just been called into the England Boys team to face Scotland. The two other faces were local lads Jesse Lingard and Larnell Cole.

In a relatively uneventful first half, both teams looked good on the ball without really creating many chances. Celtic looked a neat outfit so it was a good test for our lads.

In the second half, Paul McGuinness brought on Ajose for Chris Curran, but instead of putting pressure on the visitors’ defence, we conceded at the other end! Celtic took the lead on 53 minutes when a free kick from just outside the area managed to squirm past Conor Devlin at the near post.

United did their best to force the game and Paul McGuinness then brought on Morrison and Lingard for their U18 debuts. The Reds got a well deserved equaliser when Matty James, who has been outstanding all season, scored from the edge of the box. Two minutes later Cole replaced Josh King, and although we had a few chances to sneak a win at the end, a draw was probably a fair result.

MUTV will be showing the highlights from this match on Sunday at 5.30pm (and at various other points in the couple of days after). Thanks again to Mr MUJAC for the match report.

UNITED
1. Conor Devlin
2. Cameron Stewart
3. Oliver Gill
4. Kenny Strickland
5. Scott Wootton
6. Matty James (c)
7. Chris Curran (12. Nicky Ajose 51)
8. Oliver Norwood
9. Joshua King (16. Larnell Cole 78)
10. Davide Petrucci (14. Ra’vel Morrison 62)
11. Robbie Brady (15. Jesse Lingard 70)

Subs not used
13. Gary Woods
17. Sam Johnstone

	-
Manchester United U18s	2-2	Liverpool U18s

Macheda 14, 17	-	Ellison 13
-	-	Pepper (pen) 49

 
A second half spot-kick converted by Liverpool forced United to settle for a point from a somewhat ill-tempered encounter at Carrington this morning, the referee’s dismissal of three strong penalty appeals leaving Paul McGuinness’ side feeling hard done by not to emerge with all three. Kiko Macheda’s quickfire and superbly-taken brace had earlier cancelled out James Ellison’s opener for the visitors in this contest between two of the early pace-setters in Premier Academy League Group C.

With internationals on the back-burner for the time being and the injury situation continuing to improve, the United side that took the field had a much stronger look about it than in recent weeks – indeed, with the exception of Joe Dudgeon (who sat this one out after returning from injury in the win against Wolves last week) this was probably the Reds’ first-choice XI. Evandro Brandão partnered Kiko Macheda in attack, while skipper Matty James returned to the side after stepping up to the reserves of late. Gary Woods was given the nod in goal.

The game started in a combative and niggly vein that was to last the full ninety minutes, and it was the visitors who drew first blood. Liverpool right-winger David Amoo, a controversial acquisition from Millwall, showed all his raw pace and power to blast past Oliver Gill down the right flank and pull back to the waiting Ellison, whose low finish just eluded Woods.

Were United rocked by this setback? Not exactly. Not sixty seconds had passed before the Reds were back on level terms thanks to the predatory Macheda. Reece Brown and Cameron Stewart combined to play Davide Petrucci in wide on the right and his cross was crisply volleyed home at the back post by his unmarked compatriot.

Kiko Macheda - quickfire brace takes him to five for the season

United weren’t content to just level things up though. Confidence bolstered by the goal, they went looking for another – they only had to wait three minutes. James typically burst through midfield and found Stewart, who looked to thread a ball in behind the Liverpool defence for Macheda to run onto. The winger’s pass seemed to lack the necessary pace, allowing centre-back Wisdom to get back goal-side, but the intended recipient made up for that with his speed of thought, cleverly firing an early shot with little backlift through his marker’s legs, leaving keeper Bouzanis unsighted and helpless as it rolled into the far corner.

Long range efforts from Petrucci and James were well kept out by Liverpool’s Aussie keeper, while Ellison went close down the other end with a header, but the key moment in what remained of the first half came in the last few seconds before half-time. Stewart’s right-wing cross appeared to be knocked away from the danger area by the hands of Ayala, John Terry-style. Not for the last time, the referee saw it differently, blew for a corner and, shortly after, for half-time.

Reece Brown didn’t re-emerge for the second half. A nasty challenge from Ellison that went unpunished had left him hobbling through the final stages of the first period and unable to continue after the break, Robbie Brady taking his place – he took up his usual left-wing role with Cameron Stewart returning to the right-back slot he’s pretty much vacated this season.

Unfortunately for Brady, his first touch contributed indirectly to Liverpool levelling things up. An attack down their right looked to have been snuffed out by Scott Wootton but Brady missed his kick when attempting to clear and the ball fell to ‘Pool captain Adam Pepper. He burst into the box and went down under Wootton’s clumsy and mistimed challenge – the referee pointed to the spot this time, a decision it was hard to argue with. Pepper picked himself up and coolly sent Woods the wrong way – 2-2, game well and truly on.

Except… it wasn’t really. Both sides looked to win the game but the game became ever-scrappier and something of a dour midfield battle with few chances at either end. The scrappy nature of the game was further contributed to by a steady stream of freekicks, with the referee reaching for his yellow card in an attempt to calm things down and get the game under control – Irwin, O’Connor and Pepper all had their names taken on the away side, with Norwood and Brady joining them in the book.

The best chance for United to win the game fell to the guy you’d want it to – Macheda. Unfortunately, the Italian had just a few minutes previously been on the end of a crunching tackle (of somewhat dubious legality) from Pepper and had only just returned to the field after recieving lengthy treatment. The Italian was understandably tentative and clearly nursing an ankle problem, and that led to a vital moment of hesitancy which just prevented him from being perfectly positioned to tap home James’ cross. Macheda did however retrieve the cross, and it was over to the referee to wave away another strong United penalty shout – the striker feinted one way and then the other in a bid to work space for a shot and was duly dumped on the turf by O’Connor, who got nowhere near the ball – no penalty… apparently.

That ‘non-foul’ left Macheda unable to continue, Nicky Ajose replacing him and forming a fresh-legged strike partnership with Joshua King (on for Brandão). The last ten minutes were a bit of a non-event but both of the substitutes came close to stealing the win for United. King first of all narrowly failed to get enough contact on the ball when Bouzanis came and flapped at a Norwood centre and left the goal empty, while Ajose was the subject of yet another moment of spot-kick controversy. The forward cut in from the left and appeared to be chopped down by Irwin with the ball once again not being involved in the equation – the ref pointing to the corner instead of the penalty spot pretty much made it clear this was not to be the Reds’ day.

UNITED
1. Gary Woods
2. Reece Brown (12. Robbie Brady 46)
3. Oliver Gill
4. Kenny Strickland
5. Scott Wootton
6. Matty James (c)
7. Cameron Stewart
8. Davide Petrucci
9. Evandro Brandão (15. Joshua King 66)
10. Federico Macheda (16. Nicky Ajose 73)
11. Oliver Norwood

Booked: Norwood, Brady

	-
Wolverhampton W. U18s	0-1	Manchester United U18s

-

-

Norwood 35

 
United’s U18′s got back to winning ways at the Compton Park Campus this morning with a solid 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers. Following in the footsteps of the reserves on Wednesday night, Paul McGuinness’ side bounced back from a disappointing home defeat with a great three points away from home thanks to a glorious Oliver Norwood free-kick ten minutes before the half-time interval.

Lining up in the away strip of white shirts and blue shorts, the reds welcomed back Davide Petruuci, Joe Dudgeon, Robbie Brady and Joshua King. Petrucci has been away on international duty with Italy while Dudgeon was fit again after a knee operation had sidelined him for six weeks. Both were named in the starting eleven while Brady (who had been nursing a slight knock) and King (who had recovered from an ankle injury) were on the substututes bench.

United lined up in a 4-5-1 formation with Dudgeon at left-back, Reece Brown at right back and Wootton and Strickland in the middle. After playing full-back himself in recent games it was good to see Kenny Strickland back in his more customary role.

A five-man midfield saw United play with two wingers – Curran on the right and Stewart on the left – allowing Petrucci, Oliver Norwood and Ryan Tunnicliffe to run the midfield. Matty James was named on the bench given his full 90 minutes in the reserves last Wednesday, as was Kiko Macheda – Evandro Brandão started as the lone striker in his absence.

Oliver Norwood - United's match-winner

United started the stronger team and as usual tried to take control by playing good passing football through the Wolverhampton midfield. To be fair it was a relatively even game with both Wootton and Strickland strong in defence and our midfield giving very little away. Then on 35 minutes Ollie Norwood stepped up to take a free kick and, in typical Beckham-esque fashion, curled a wonderful strike past the keeper to give United the lead. It stayed 1-0 until half time.

In the second half the Midlands outfit became increasingly more frustrated and as a consequence the game became more physical. Paul McGuinness brought on Matty James for Curran on the hour in a bid to give our midfield a little more bite. It certainly had an impact as Norwood and James started to boss the central areas.

With a little over 20 minutes remaining, Brady replaced Stewart and King replaced Brandão. Both had a good workout in their cameos but the game had turned into a deadlock with both midfields and defences giving very little away. With a few minutes remaining, Norwood had a chance to to get his, and United’s, second when he took a free-kick just outside the box. However, his shot whistled past the post – another super free-kick but just wide.

In the end United just about deserved the victory as we had played the more more open, adventurous football, and with three injured players back in the fold it was a good day all-round – Wolves are a very well thought-of side at this level, the win great preparation for the visit of table-topping arch-rivals Liverpool to Carrington next Saturday.

MUTV will be showing highlights of today’s game at 5.30pm tomorrow (and at various points over the next week). Thanks again to Mr MUJAC for the match report.

UNITED
1. Gary Woods
2. Reece Brown
3. Joe Dudgeon
4. Kenny Strickland
5. Scott Wootton
6. Oliver Norwood (c)
7. Chris Curran (17. Matty James 60)
8. Ryan Tunnicliffe
9. Evandro Brandão (16. Joshua King 68)
10. Davide Petrucci
11. Cameron Stewart (14. Robbie Brady 68)

Subs not used
12. Oliver Gill
13. No sub keeper named
15. Federico Macheda
 

Enjoyed this? Share with:
 

Del.icio.us

Digg

reddit

Facebook

StumbleUpon

	-
Manchester United U18	1-2	Crewe Alexandra U18

Macheda 89	-	Westwood 53
-	-	Stair 68

 
United’s U18s were brought back down to earth with a bang at Carrington this morning as their fine start to the season was stopped in its tracks by an impressive Crewe outfit who frustrated the Reds for long periods before grabbing two decisive goals on the break. Shoddy defending and a poor final ball were hallmarks of United’s play all game and a typically well-taken goal from substitute Kiko Macheda was too little too late for Paul McGuinness’ side.

For once, my wild stab in the dark regarding the starting lineup wasn’t too far wide of the mark. As predicted, Macheda and Gary Woods were restricted to a bench role due to reserve duty past and future, while injury problems deprived McGuinness of pretty much everyone else mentioned in the preview as likely to be absent. There was one notable and significant addition to that – skipper Matty James also missed out, the reason not yet being clear.

What that meant was Conor Devlin continuing in goal, the ‘regular’ back four of Kenny Strickland, Reece Brown, Scott Wootton and Oliver Gill being reunited in defence, Ryan Tunnicliffe stepping up from the U16s to replace James in midfield and Anton Bryan dropping down to partner Nicky Ajose upfront as an over-age player. Cameron Stewart and Chris Curran continued on the wings, with Oliver Norwood assuming the captaincy.

I’m going to be honest here – this isn’t going to be one of the typically lengthy match reports I tend to write. That is probably a blessing in truth, and it’s because, well, as football matches go, this one wasn’t the most eventful by any stretch of the imagination, especially when it comes to goalmouth action. Crewe were short on form and confidence coming into the game and understandably set themselves up to get plenty of men behind the ball, frustrate a somewhat depleted United side and maybe pinch something on the break, a plan they executed extremely well. The home side were shorn of arguably their three best players for most of the game (James, Petrucci and Macheda), were really lacking a spark of inspiration, couldn’t find a final ball if their lives depended on it and dealt with the tricky, blustery conditions far less ably than their opponents.

The first half was what you might call a stalemate. United came close to opening the scoring on a couple of occasions through Ajose and Curran, and you have to think that if one of those chances had been converted, the game would almost certainly have been a very different one from that point on.

Goalkeeper Daniel Platt was the visitors’ most impressive player in the first 45, which tells you something about the balance of play perhaps, but it would be unfair to say United were in any way dominant – the Reds were the better side certainly, but they were not exactly relentlessly laying siege to the Crewe goal. Indeed, the Crewe coaching staff would probably have been the happier at the break, their team having shown real discipline to stick to their gameplan while United’s frustration at being able to make a breakthrough had all too often manifested itself in sloppy ball retention.

The second half wasn’t dissimilar in terms of the pattern it followed, but there was something of an increase in activity in both penalty areas. Unfortunately for United, while the action in the visitors’ box typically resulted in the intervention of Platt or his defenders, sloppy defending at the other end allowed Crewe to effectively achieve their best case scenario – keeping it tight at the back, frustrating the Reds and pinching a goal on the counter. Twice, in fact.

The opening goal was nicely worked in fairness, a quick team move after United again conceded possession too easily resulting in Crewe having a man over on the right hand side. That man was midfielder Ashley Westwood and he found himself with all the time in the world to pick his spot. Wootton’s despairing lunge diverted the ball into the opposite corner to where it had been aimed but Westwood’s shot was on it’s way in anyway so to call it an own goal would be to rub unnecessary salt into the wounds of a United defence who had been pretty ruthlessly exposed.

Kiko Macheda - 3rd goal of the season, but just a consolation this time

McGuinness looked to seize back the initiative for his side with the introduction of Macheda and Evandro Brandão just after the hour mark, but the pair had barely had the chance to enter the pitch before the Reds found themselves two behind. If the first goal could almost be excused due to the speed and slickness of Crewe’s counter attack, this one was all about poor defending.

I’m never keen to single players out for criticism, especially at this level, but Oliver Gill will not want to watch the passage of play that led to substitute Theo Stair doubling the Railwaymen’s lead on TV any time soon. The 18 year-old first appeared to duck out of a header that would have averted any immediate danger before stumbling over a combination of a Crewe attacker and his own feet and then finally pulling out of a challenge on right-back Danny Shelley, all of which essentially laid out the red carpet for Shelley to race to the byline and pull the ball back to the waiting Stair to tap home.

You hoped for a response from United in the last twenty minutes, and to an extent we got one. For the most part the final ball and decision-making was still sorely lacking but Norwood and Tunnicliffe both at least forced Platt into saves, the latter in particular standing out as the Reds’ best player despite his relatively tender years.

Then, after Shelley capped a stand-out performance for the visitors with a terrific freekick that cannoned against Devlin’s right-hand post, the final minute saw Tunnicliffe cleverly play Macheda in with the sort of pass that the Italian thrives on. Kiko didn’t disappoint, firing the ball across Platt and into the far corner, and faint hopes of a draw were briefly revived. As it was, the three minutes or so of stoppage time flew by with nothing of note happening and that was that, unbeaten record gone and something of a reality check for the young Reds.

How to sum the game up… first things first, fair play to Crewe. This may come across as patronising but they came to do a job, recognised their limitations, carried out their individual and collective duties to the letter and got their rewards. If they are genuinely the weakest side in FAPAL Group C (as their pre-game position in the table suggested), that speaks volumes for the strength in depth in United’s group.

Is the defeat a disaster for Paul McGuinness and his side? Not at all. Cliché alert but if anything, these young players will learn more by going through defeats and the process of responding to them than they will by cantering to victories every week. Player development is what it’s all about at this level, results are secondary, and if the players respond in the right way to this setback then the points dropped won’t matter a jot.

Special mention to Ryan Tunnicliffe, who as I mentioned above was probably the Reds’ best player despite this being his first start for the U18s. A number of players performed below the level we’ve come to expect of them but, again, that happens at this level and it’s all part of the learning curve.

And will you look at that, I’ve written even more than usual…

UNITED
1. Conor Devlin
2. Kenny Strickland
3. Oliver Gill
4. Reece Brown
5. Scott Wootton
6. Oliver Norwood (c)
7. Chris Curran
8. Ryan Tunnicliffe
9. Anton Bryan (14. Federico Macheda 64)
10. Nicky Ajose
11. Cameron Stewart (12. Evandro Brandão 64)

Sub not used
13. Gary Woods

A trip to the Midlands to face Wolves is next up for the U18s, next Saturday at 11am.
 

Enjoyed this? Share with:
 

Del.icio.us

Digg

reddit

Facebook

StumbleUpon

	-
Stoke City U18	0-4	Manchester United U18

-	-	Ajose 30, 32
-	-	Curran 35
-	-	Macheda 69

The Michelin Sports Ground in Stoke-on-Trent was the venue for a masterful display from Paul McGuinness’ U18 side this morning, the final scoreline of 4-0 barely reflecting the Reds’ superiority over an impressive ninety minutes. Three goals in a clinical five-minute period in the first-half from Nicky Ajose (2) and Chris Curran effectively killed off the game as a contest, Kiko Macheda adding a classy fourth after the break as United cruised to victory.

With his squad hit by injuries and international call-ups and last week’s draw with Derby exposing some flaws in a very raw defensive unit, McGuinness took the opportunity to use his full compliment of permitted over-age outfield players. Corry Evans replaced Reece Brown at centre-back, Jimmy Derbyshire took the place of Kenny Strickland on the right of the defence while Magnus Eikrem replaced triallist Lee Askham, whose absence may or may not be telling.

Elsewhere, the goalkeeper rotation continued with Conor Devlin coming in for his second game of the season, and a goal in each of the last two games earned Ajose a starting role upfront alongside Macheda. Chris Curran’s fine form so far this season was rewarded with a start on the right flank in place of Cameron Stewart, who dropped down to the bench.

The opening exchanges were fairly even, United looking perhaps the more dangerous in possession but the home side having the better chances, two free headers from corners being notably spurned. Devlin also narrowly avoided an embarrassing moment as a Moult shot caught him on his heels on the goalline and the rookie keeper only just managed to keep the ball out of his net as he juggled with it.

United’s back five settled down and the front six started to crank up the pressure. Matty James forced a stunning save out of Potters keeper Hamilton after fine work from Curran on the right, while Ajose served notice of the threat he posed, latching onto an unintended through-ball from Evans and firing just wide of the far post. James and Macheda failed to convert further openings as the Reds built up a head of steam that suggested a goal was coming. As it turned out, goals (in the plural) were coming, and in quick succession.

Nicky Ajose - quickfire double takes his season tally to four

First, just as the clock reached the half-hour mark, Oliver Norwood picked up the ball, drove through midfield and bisected the Stoke back-four with the perfect pass for Ajose to sprint onto. The 16 year-old needed no further invitation and coolly lifted the ball over the diving Hamilton to give United a deserved lead. Time to consolidate? Not this team, not today. Just two minutes later the hitherto quiet Macheda dummied a pass from Norwood, allowing it to run to Ajose who showed tremendous strength to hold off his marker and let the ball run across his body, setting up a shooting opportunity from 20 yards which he expertly took, curling the ball unstoppably into the top right-hand corner.

The Reds weren’t done. The clock had barely ticked on much further before Hamilton was picking the ball out of his net once again. Curran recieved the ball in acres of space on the right flank, from where most would have predicted an attempt to beat the full-back on the outside before whipping in a cross. The Ulsterman shunned that conventional wisdom, shifting inside onto his left foot and drifting past one, two, three defenders before rifling home from 18 yards with his weaker left peg. A goal reminiscent of Andrei Kanchelskis’ goal in the 1994 FA Cup Semi-Final Replay against Oldham Athletic at Maine Road, if anyone else is sad enough to recall that strike.

To all intents and purposes the game was over, three points in the bag for the visitors. McGuinness’ primary task at half-time would be to get over to his charges the need to avoid complacency, a task that was greatly assisted in the last few seconds of the first period by Devlin’s crossbar being rattled. Stoke skipper Nathaniel Wedderburn’s shot from range was cleverley re-directed by their top scorer Warwick Alexander, wrong-footing the Reds’ Northern Irish stopper but cannoning to safety off the woodwork.

It’s fair to say McGuinness successfully got the message across – a confident United eleven cruised through the second half, never looking likely to cede their position of superiority and giving the impression that they could increase the 3-0 lead any time they felt like it. Stoke worked hard but their spirit had been well and truly sapped by United’s ruthless first-half display. The United boss took the chance to rest James, Norwood and Oliver Gill, who had played every minute in the Academy League up until that point – Cameron Stewart, Reece Brown and Kenny Strickland their replacements.

What few moments of goalmouth activity there were in the second period were fashioned by those in the white shirts (United in their away attire, for anyone confused or unaware of Stoke’s kit colours), the most notable being the fourth goal with twenty minutes remaining that pushed the scoreline up to something more fairly reflecting the overall balance of play. Corry Evans, by now restored to his usual midfield role, played Macheda in down the right channel. The Italian was in behind the defence but the angle meant he still had work to do – no problem for a goalscorer of his quality. A classy finish was duly dispatched into the far corner.

What would have capped the game off nicely would have been a hattrick goal for the in-form Ajose. It didn’t come, but it wasn’t for want of trying in the last ten minutes, which saw the Bury-born striker first round the keeper only to get the ball stuck under his feet, and then be denied by a brilliant block from Stoke defender Connor. Not to be this time, but the youngster’s impressive performance will have surely earned him plenty more opportunities to take home the match-ball (if that even happens at academy level) over the course of the season.

Oliver Norwood and Corry Evans also stood out in what was a fine team performance. Evans added some much-needed ‘experience’ and leadership to what has been a very raw back four, while Norwood was at the hub of all United’s best work going forward whilst still managing to carry out the defensive duties expected of him in an unusual left-sided role. This team continues to impress, 3 wins, two draws, 13 goals scored and just two goals conceded a hugely encouraging return from the first five games, with Crewe Alexandra next up at Carrington a week today.

UNITED
1. Conor Devlin
2. Jimmy Derbyshire
3. Oliver Gill (12. Kenny Strickland 76)
4. Corry Evans
5. Scott Wootton
6. Matty James (c) (15. Reece Brown 61)
7. Chris Curran
8. Magnus Eikrem
9. Federico Macheda
10. Nicky Ajose
11. Oliver Norwood (14. Cameron Stewart 61)

Subs not used
13. Gary Woods

	-
Manchester United U18	2-2	Derby County U18

Brandão 23	-	Prijovic 50
Ajose 53	-	Ojamaa 62

 
United’s Academy side twice took the lead and twice were pegged back by an impressive Derby team in a game that could have gone either way and deservedly ended up with honours even. Goals from Evandro de Carvalho Brandão and Nicky Ajose were cancelled out by strikes from the Rams’ livewire strike pairing Aleksander Prijovic and Henrik Ojamaa on a gloriously sunny morning at Carrington.

Paul McGuinness’ teamsheet showed two outfield changes from the United side that won so emphatically at Huddersfield last week – Evandro Brandão replacing Nicky Ajose (who dropped to the bench) and Cameron Stewart coming in for Davide Petrucci (absent for reasons as yet unknown), as the formation switched to a 4-4-2 with triallist Lee Askham swapping from right flank to left. The only other change was in goal, as Gary Woods returned to the team in place of Ben Amos behind the now-familiar back four of Kenny Strickland, Reece Brown, Scott Wootton and Oliver Gill. Joe Dudgeon, Scott Moffatt, Robbie Brady and Joshua King were all on the sidelines as they continue to recover from injuries.

The most notable aspect of a first twenty minutes bereft of goalscoring opportunities was Derby’s high-tempo approach to the game. United were given no time whatsoever in possession and, as a result, couldn’t settle into any kind of rhythm. It was nearly twenty minutes before the Reds had even a sniff of goal, Brandão racing clear after skipper Matty James’ pass split the defence but losing possession as he tried to cut back inside onto his favoured right foot.

That should have been ample warning for a Derby defence that had been solid up until that point, but a few minutes later they fell behind as the same player raced clear in the same position, and it didn’t even take a precise through-ball this time. As the ball was hit forward towards Kiko Macheda, the visitors’ stopped playing, assuming the Italian was offside. No flag or whistle was forthcoming and Macheda had all the time in the world to head for goal and slide Brandão in with a simple reverse ball. The Portuguese still had some work to do but showed terrific composure to dink the ball over the advancing Rams keeper Kean with the outside of his right foot and find the far corner.

Derby heads could have dropped at that point but they did anything but. United probed for opportunities to extend their lead but the best chances in the remainder of the half were all created by the visitors. Shortly after that opening goal only a last-ditch Reece Brown block prevented Prijovic from at the very least seriously testing Woods, and Prijovic came close on a couple of other occasions – first watching a cross-shot drift agonisingly wide after a corner was cleared to him and latterly, just before the break, sending a free header over the bar when he should have done better.

The best chance of an equaliser before the interval however fell to Prijovic’s strike partner, 17 year-old Estonian Henrik Ojamaa. Derby’s right-winger Mills had looked lively all half and, as the 45 minutes neared a close, he seized on an opportunity to dispossess the dithering Gill and cut into the penalty area from the byline. His pull-back presented the unmarked Ojamaa with a golden chance to level things up but Woods plunged brilliantly to his right to keep the forward’s effort out and United’s clean sheet intact.

When the referee blew for half-time the Reds were delighted to be in front but definitely knew they were in a game. One lapse aside Derby had been resolute at the back while their prodigious workrate was successfully stifling United’s creativity. At the other end the Rams’ forwards were giving Brown, Wootton and co. their sternest test of the season thus far by some margin. All that was lacking from the visitors’ performance was a goal, and manager David Lowe sent his team out for the second half on a mission to rectify that.

The first five minutes of the second period were all Derby – no exaggeration. Ojamaa immediately threatened, dancing past Brown and Strickland only being denied by the woodwork. United simply couldn’t get hold of the ball, and their opponents forced last-ditch tackles, blocks and interceptions as well as numerous corners as they sought to get back on terms. The pressure soon told, and it was from one of those corners that the score was tied. Mills’ set-piece was unconvincingly punched away by Woods and the ball rebounded off Wootton, sitting up perfectly for Prijovic. The Serb’s volley was hacked away by the despairing Gill but the linesman correctly adjudged the ball to have crossed the line, bringing to an end a spell without United conceding a goal that had reached 350 minutes of match time.

McGuinness sensed the momentum was all with United’s opponents (it would have been impossible to not to) and made two instant changes in personnel – Chris Curran for Askham and Nicky Ajose for Brandão – in a bid to stem the tide. The latter change had an immediate impact that legendary supersub and reserve manager Ole Solskjaer, watching the second half from the sideline, would have been proud of. Macheda held off a number of defenders on halfway before feeding James and making a run for the return ball. Taking that in his stride, last season’s top scorer for the Academy played a perfectly-weighted ball in behind the defence for Ajose to sprint onto. The Bury-born youngster composed himself and coolly slotted the ball past Kean to restore United’s lead, totally against the run of play.

Again, if the hosts expected their opponents to crumble upon going a goal behind, they had another thing coming. Prijovic came close twice more and Derby started to build up another head of steam. Desperate United defending saw more corners conceded and it was again from a set-piece that Derby levelled for the second time, just after the hour mark. Mills’ delivery to the back post cleared everyone in a red shirt and was headed back across goal by Rams defender Jermaine Johnson. The centre-half’s header was on its way in anyway but Ojamaa popped up at the back post to flick the ball in and claim the goal.

With half an hour remaining, Derby were well and truly in the ascendancy and would have been most people’s favourites to emerge with all three points, yet a push from the away side for a winning goal never really materialised. It would be easy to say United weathered the Derby storm but in truth it was more a case of the Derby storm petering out largely of its own accord – after some confidence-denting results recently maybe they were prepared to settle for a point? Sensing this, it was the Reds who showed the greater urgency going forward as the game reached its latter stages, Chris Curran featuring heavily, never more so than when finding himself six yards out and on the end of a Cameron Stewart cross that had deflected into his path. To the Ulsterman’s dismay, his shot cannoned away off Kean’s legs to safety.

Stewart was also featuring heavily as the clock ticked down and had his own glaring chance to win the game for United with just a couple of minutes remaining. Derby failed to deal with a Norwood corner effectively and when the ball fell to Stewart 12 yards out and on his right foot, you’d have backed the young Mancunian to at least hit the target. Unfortunately for everyone of a Red persuasion the 17 year-old dragged his shot wide of the post – a point apiece it was to be.

Final score – United U18s 2 Derby U18s 2

There are some significant comparisons to be made between today’s game and the reserves’ draw with Blackburn on Thursday night. There was definitely a great deal more goalmouth action in this morning’s clash but in both games, United sides who have gotten used to having things somewhat they’re own way throughout pre-season/early season came up against sides who posed different questions, and they found it tough to answer them. The Reds’ creative players – Norwood, James, Stewart, Macheda – had less time on the ball than they’re used to and none of them managed to impose themselves on the game as a result. This isn’t a major concern – indeed, it can only be beneficial to their development to come up against different styles of play and different methods of nullifying their abilities.

Credit has to go to Derby – a look at their results so far this season and their performance last season wouldn’t have brought to mind a team with the battling qualities and tactical discipline that were on display from those in white shirts at Carrington this morning. They came with a gameplan, executed it perfectly and showed great resilience to respond to setbacks. In Ojamaa and Prijovic they had two of the trickiest opponents United’s defenders will come across this season.

Standout performers for United? It’s certainly easier to single out those who were below-par, but Kenny Strickland was solid at right-back and the pick of the bunch defensively, while Evandro Brandão was lively, combative and hard-working upfront (in the face of some rather pernickety refereeing), took his goal well and was perhaps slightly unfortunate to be hauled off early in the second half.

UNITED
1. Gary Woods
2. Kenny Strickland
3. Oliver Gill
4. Reece Brown
5. Scott Wootton
6. Matty James (c)
7. Cameron Stewart
8. Oliver Norwood
9. Evandro Brandão (14. Nicky Ajose 52)
10. Federico Macheda
11. Lee Askham (12. Chris Curran 52)

Sub not used
13. Conor Devlin

The Academy are on their travels next Saturday, Stoke City the opponents at the Michelin Sports Ground in Stoke-on-Trent.

	-
Huddersfield Town U18	0-5	Manchester United U18

-	-	Macheda 41
-	-	Ajose 49
-	-	Askham 59
-	-	Stewart 70
-	-	James 75

Paul McGuinness’ Under-18 side continued their impressive start to the new campaign with a 5-0 hammering of their Huddersfield Town counterparts at Storthes Hall, in a game that for long periods was a lot closer than the scoreline might suggest. United’s class told as the game wore on, with the Reds bagging four second-half goals.

United fielded the usual suspects but named a triallist, Lee Askham on the right side of midfield. Askham, an 18 year-old former England U17 international, is currently on Sheffield United’s books. Ben Amos donned the number one jersey as an over-age player.

The Reds started brightly but their opponents looked threatening on the break, with both sides having opportunities to open the scoring. Ajose hit the post inside five minutes after outpacing the Terriers’ right-back, and soon after he could only guide a rebound over the empty Huddersfield net after Matty James’ long-range effort had been parried by England youth international keeper Alex Smithies.

Down at the other end Town striker Barlow missed a similarly gilt-edged opportunity and the Reds were quick to make him pay. Ajose broke clear down the right, worked room to cross with his left-foot and perfectly picked out Kiko Macheda at the far post – the Italian made no mistake with a clinical left-foot volley back across Smithies and into the far corner, and the Reds had a lead to take into half-time.

They nearly had a 2-0 lead to take into the interval, Macheda striking the same post that Ajose had hit earlier after a brilliant, mazy run that took his past several Huddersfield defenders.

Half time: Huddersfield 0 United 1

United stepped up the tempo after the break and, with Norwood and James pulling all the strings in midfield, further goals were only a matter of time in coming. Sure enough, just four minutes into the second period the lead was doubled. Macheda and Davide Petrucci linked up and eventually fed Ollie Norwood, who shaped to shoot from range but instead slipped a perfectly-weighted ball in behind defence for the alert Ajose to run onto and fire into the far corner.

Ten minutes passed before triallist Askham capped a decent game with a superbly-taken goal. Norwood’s corner was cleared to him on the edge of the box but as he shaped to shoot with his right foot, the route to goal appeared to be blocked off by swiftly-closing Town defenders. No bother – the midfielder flicked the ball over the advancing defender with his right-foot before beating Smithies at his near-post with a crisp left-footed strike.

Askham and Ajose were replaced by Cam Stewart and Chris Curran with 25 minutes remaining and both had big parts to play as the Reds’ looked for more goals. The lively Stewart was an immediate threat and it was no surprise to see him add his name to the scoresheet five minutes after coming on with a classy finish after James had produced a barnstorming run through midfield and a perfect through-ball.

Curran’s moment came in the form of an assist, after Norwood had expertly found him on the right flank. The Ulsterman looked up and perfectly picked out the lurking James at the far post, the skipper making no mistake with a firm downward header past a demoralised Smithies.

Final Score: Huddersfield Town 0 Manchester United 5

UNITED
1. Ben Amos
2. Kenny Strickland
3. Oliver Gill
4. Reece Brown
5. Scott Wootton
6. Matty James (c)
7. Lee Askham (12. Chris Curran 65)
8. Oliver Norwood
9. Federico Macheda
10. Davide Petrucci
11. Nicky Ajose (14. Cameron Stewart 65)

Sub not used
13. Conor Devlin

	-
United U18	2-0	Norwich City U18

Petrucci 51	-	-
James 77	-	-

The U18′s continued their promising start to the new campaign at Carrington this morning, with a first Academy goal for Davide Petrucci and a decisive Matty James strike securing all three points for the young Reds from a close, hard-fought encounter with their Norwich City counterparts.

Paul McGuinness made just the two changes to the team that drew at West Ham last week, Conor Devlin making his competitive Academy debut in place of Gary Woods between the sticks and Chris Curran coming in for Evandro Brandão as the formation shifted from a 4-4-2 to more of a 4-5-1, with widemen Curran and Cameron Stewart supporting lone striker Kiko Macheda.

Davide Petrucci was given something of a free role behind his countryman and just in front of the Matty James-Ollie Norwood central midfield tandem, while the back four remained unchanged in the continued absence of Scott Moffatt and Joe Dudgeon. With Joshua King, Ryan Tunnicliffe and Zeki Fryers also not involved, Jack Dean was drafted in from the U16′s as one of the five substitutes.

The first-half was lively but an extremely congested central midfield area contributed towards long periods of scrappy play. United were marginally on top but neither side really tested their opposing keeper until ten minutes before the break, when Norwich stopper Declan Rudd was called into action to deny Macheda, whose right-footed strike after a terrific move involving Stewart and Petrucci just lacked the sufficient power. That accusation certainly couldn’t be levelled at Matty James’ long-range effort five minutes later, but the captain’s well-struck shot just clipped the top of the crossbar with Rudd well-beaten.

On the stroke of half-time, the Reds came even closer to opening the scoring, Norwood’s left-wing freekick causing havoc in the Norwich area as the ball squirmed from Rudd’s grasp and rolled across the face of goal. Oliver Gill came agonisingly close to turning the ball in but was just unable to wrap his right foot around the ball.

With United building up something of a head of steam the break came at an inconvenient time really, but McGuinness’ side came out after the interval and immediately looked to re-seize the initiative. Four minutes into the second period Cameron Stewart showed great skill down the left to break free of the attentions of his marker and flash a low shot across goal which Curran was inches away from turning in at the far post.

Just two minutes later more fine work down the left led to the deadlock finally being broken. James and Stewart spread the ball to Macheda on the left-hand side of the penalty area, the big Italian worked himself space to cross with a clever change of pace and his inch-perfect centre presented his compatriot Petrucci with a headed chance that he was never going to pass up. United were well on top and had the lead they deserved.

That lead was nearly doubled within sixty seconds of the restart, Macheda again instrumental as he picked out James’ run from midfield with a superb pass. The skipper found himself unmarked just inside the 18-yard box and hit a fierce shot which Rudd was grateful to see struck straight at him. United’s intent to look for more goals was evident and chances continued to come and go over the next 20 minutes or so. Curran tapped-in a rebound after Rudd spilled another James shot but was ruled to have strayed offside, and shortly after the Ulsterman saw a rasping angled drive superbly turned round the post by the Canaries’ keeper.

With twenty minutes to go the woodwork came to Norwich’s aid once again, Rudd superbly palming a point-blank header from Macheda onto the post. A second goal looked inevitable, but for a short period it looked as if it might be the visitors who would grab it. Striker Luke Daley went close twice in a matter of minutes, first guiding a free header just past the far post before firing narrowly over the crossbar after a mazy run that saw him elude four United players.

Cause for concern for Reds’ coach McGuinness, but any fears that Norwich were on the verge of hauling themselves level were swiftly extinguished by a sublime second United goal. There looked to be little on when Kenny Strickland picked the ball up near the halfway line but his pinpoint long pass from the right flank found James in behind the Canaries’ defence. With two touches the skipper brought the ball out of the sky superbly before deftly lifting the ball over Rudd and into the far corner to effectively finish the game as a contest.

Norwich, to their credit, didn’t let heads drop and had a number of chances to pull a goal back as United’s intensity understandably eased off. Renton fired straight at Devlin before Smith’s low curling effort from just outside the box tested the debutant keeper a great deal more. Davey then struck Devlin’s crossbar with a mishit cross, but for the second consecutive game the Reds’ rearguard was not to be breached. The crossbar down the other end was also left shaking as the clock ran down, James’ near-post header from a Norwood corner beating Rudd but rebounding to safety – 2-0 it finished.

Kiko Macheda and Davide Petrucci both impressed – Macheda’s link-up play and ability on the ball was top-drawer, while Petrucci was at the heart of United’s best attacking play from the half-hour mark onwards and seemingly popped up everywhere. Man of the Match for me though goes to Matty James, scorer of a wonderful goal, unfortunate not to bag two more and – like Petrucci – involved in all the Reds’ best work going forward.

Highlights:

United
1. Conor Devlin
2. Kenny Strickland
3. Oliver Gill
4. Reece Brown
5. Scott Wootton
6. Oliver Norwood
7. Chris Curran
8. Matty James (c)
9. Federico Macheda
10. Davide Petrucci
11. Cameron Stewart (12. Robert Brady 69)

Subs not used
13. Gary Woods
14. Nicky Ajose
15. Evandro Brandão
16. Jack Dean

The U18′s will look to build on their strong start to the season with another home game next weekend. Middlesbrough are the visitors to Carrington next Saturday for a 12pm kick-off that will be shown live on MUTV.
 

Enjoyed this? Share with:
 

Del.icio.us

Digg

reddit

Facebook

StumbleUpon

	-
West Ham U18	0-0	Man Utd U18

United’s Academy side started the new Premier Academy League season with one of those footballing rarities – an entertaining goalless draw. Reds’ boss Paul McGuinness won’t be displeased with a point from what always promised to be a tough game away at West Ham, and while there’ll perhaps be a nagging feeling that his side could have taken all three points, there’ll also be recognition that without a fine performance in goal from Gary Woods, they could have been returning to Manchester empty-handed.

United’s lack of depth at full-back was shown up somewhat by the team selection, with the back four of Kenny Strickland, Reece Brown, Scott Wootton and Oliver Gill all being centre-halves by nature. Cameron Stewart got the nod on the left wing, lining up alongside the promising-looking triumvarate of skipper Matty James, Davide Petrucci and Oliver Norwood in midfield, whilst yesterday’s birthday boy Federico Macheda led the line alongside Evandro Brandão.

With West Ham’s Little Heath training ground bathed in sunshine, the game was a scrappy affair for the first twenty minutes, the high tempo not being conducive to either side’s natural passing style and leading to a distinct lack of goalmouth action. Neither goalkeeper was tested until Woods was called upon to make straightforward saves from Anthony Edgar and Ahmed Abdulla midway through the half, as the home side were the first to settle and find their rhythm. United’s goal threat was limited to long-range strikes from Petrucci and Stewart, although the latter did also have a reasonable-looking penalty shout waved away just before the interval.

The second half saw the momentum swing United’s way, with James and Norwood taking control of midfield (albeit occasionally overstepping the mark physically, with both picking up yellow cards for rash tackles). Brandão was presented with the game’s best chance after James seized upon an error by Eyjolfsson, but the Portuguese was foiled by a superb save from Irons’ keeper Adam Steele, who then produced another fine stop to deny Macheda.

West Ham slowly but surely weathered that storm and came back into the game themselves, with both sides ringing the changes in a bid to find a moment of inspiration to break the deadlock. Fresh legs in the form of Nicky Ajose, Robbie Brady and Ryan Tunnicliffe were all introduced by McGuinness as the second half wore on but both sides began to wilt somewhat in the balmy conditions, genuine chances few and far between as the draw began to take on an air of inevitability. Abdulla and Josh Payne briefly threatened to make a mockery of that and snatch all three points late on for Tony Carr’s home side but were unable to beat the imposing Woods, and the game duly petered out to a 0-0 stalemate.

United
1. Gary Woods
2. Kenny Strickland
3. Oliver Gill
4. Reece Brown
5. Scott Wootton
6. Matty James (c)
7. Oliver Norwood
8. Davide Petrucci (15. Robbie Brady 64)
9. Evandro Brandão (14. Nicky Ajose 53)
10. Federico Macheda
11. Cameron Stewart (16. Ryan Tunnicliffe 80)

Booked: Oliver Gill, Matty James, Oliver Norwood

The U18′s are next in action a week today, Saturday August 30th, as they welcome Norwich City to Carrington for the first home game of the new campaign.
 

Enjoyed this? Share with:
 

Del.icio.us

Digg

reddit

Facebook

StumbleUpon

	-
MUFC Under-18′s	2-2	Spurs Under-18′s

James 68	-	?
Cofie 84	-	-

United’s Academy side came back from two goals down to earn an entirely-deserved draw against their Tottenham Hotspur counterparts in a final pre-season game this morning, with skipper Matty James and U16 forward John Cofie getting on the scoresheet in the second half.

Federico Macheda had a slight knock and was named on the bench, so Nicky Ajose was drafted into the team who lined up similar to that which faced Bury last Tuesday.

In blustery conditions at Carrington the Reds started the brightest with Evandro Brandão alone up front holding the ball up well. Norwood and James were pulling the strings in midfield and United were looking good. Brandão hit the bar with a chip and we also hit the post before Spurs took an undeserved lead. Gary Woods had dived to smother a shot a little earlier in Spurs’ first attack and then they scored with their second. Woods made a fine save but the Spurs forward knocked in the rebound. United could and should have been 3/4 goals up but just lacked a bit of composure in front of goal.

0-1 at half-time.

The second half was more even and after 58 minutes Paul McGuinness brought on Robert Brady, Chris Curran and Macheda. Shortly later Spurs scored a second when their number 7 ran their through our defence and neatly knocked it past Woods. A very good solo goal. On 68 mins Matty James ran on to a through ball and cleverly bent a shot past the keeper to bring United into the game. Robbie Brady then went on a mazy run and hit the inside of the post as the Reds tried hard to force an equaliser. Further substitutions saw Tunnicliffe, Fryers, Cofie and Lee Brennan (a triallist from Histon Town FC) come on.

Then on 84 mins, Chris Curran chased a ball into the corner, won the race for the ball, beat the fullback on the goalline and crossed for Cofie to score with a strong header. It was good reward for the Reds who didn’t deserve to lose the game.

Matty James was excellent in midfield, Gary Woods made three quality saves, Petrucci looked neat and tidy and Joe Dudgeon solid at left-back. Ollie Norwood was creative throughout and hardly gave the ball away all day.

Final score: 2-2 (James, Cofie)

United:
1. Gary Woods
2. Kenny Strickland (15. Ryan Tunnicliffe)
3. Joe Dudgeon (16. Zeki Fryers)
4. Scott Wootton
5. Oliver Gill
6. Matty James (c)
7. Oliver Norwood (18. Lee Brennan)
8. Davide Petrucci (19. John Cofie)
9. Evandro Brandão (20. Federico Macheda)
10. Nicky Ajose (12. Chris Curran)
11. Cameron Stewart (14. Robbie Brady)

13. Conor Devlin
17. Not known

Many thanks to Mr MUJAC once again for the match report. The U18′s now play West Ham away next Saturday in their opening academy league fixture, and should have Danny Welbeck back from injury to aid their cause.

For those interested in the Bury game last Tuesday of which details were very slow to emerge, United won 3-0 and the team was: Woods, Strickland, Dudgeon, Wooton, Gill, James, Norwood, Petrucci, Brandão, Macheda, Stewart. There were plenty of subs but the details of those unfortunately aren’t available. The three goals, all in the first half, came via a brace from Evandro Brandão and a first goal in United colours from Davide Petrucci.
 

Enjoyed this? Share with:
 

Del.icio.us

Digg

reddit

Facebook

StumbleUpon

United’s kids rounded off their season with a 1-1 draw against their Newcastle counterparts at Little Benton, coming from behind to pick up the point which should see them finish third in Academy Group C. The Reds went behind on the hour mark as poor defending from a corner allowed the Barcodes’ Italian youth international striker Fabio Zamblera to give his side the lead, but United deservedly levelled with seven minutes remaining through substitute Cam Stewart, who lashed home a 20-yard screamer into the top corner. The draw was very much a fair result and one that neither side’s coach will be too displeased with.

Scorer: Stewart 83′

Scorer: Macheda 4′

The first half was a relatively even affair, the first twenty minutes especially with neither side really settling into a rhythm or managing to keep possession effectively. The pace of United’s frontline caused a few early problems (King in particular showing a fantastic turn of speed) and brought about the game’s first real chance, Brandão failing to convert Danny Galbraith’s left wing cross. It was Sunderland who were to draw first blood however and United were made to pay for the young Portuguese’s profligacy just before the half-hour mark as Noble’s long range effort beat Ben Amos with the aid of a slight deflection off Strickland.

Scorer: Curran 83′