Manchester United u18s hosted Preston North End in the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup on Friday night.
After a fun weekend in Germany last week for the Rewe Junior Cup and Mercedes-Benz Junior Cup, it was the u18s first official match of 2025.
After Preston defeated Liverpool 4-1 in the previous round, United knew it would be a tough test and that is exactly what it was in the opening minutes as Preston came out with a high press and delivered some dangerous balls into United’s box.
But in the seventh minute with near enough their first chance of the match, United took the lead. Chido Obi played James Scanlon through down the left channel, where he had his shot blocked off the line. But Jack Fletcher was following in to poke home and give United the early lead.
With Preston still putting up a valiant fight, United’s quality in attack shone through though to double the lead in just the 12th minute. Jack Fletcher turned provider with an excellent delivery from the corner kick to find Reece Munro at the back post to head in.
The action began to move in one direction from there as United took full control. Munro stretched his legs from the back with an incredible 70 yard run before laying off to Scanlon, who forced a good save from the Preston keeper.
Obi put his name on the scoresheet in the 25th minute with an easy tap in after Jack Fletcher provided the impetus with a sensational move which saw him turn one defender before sitting another down with a cutback to shoot that was saved into the path of Obi to finish.
Just after the half hour mark, Obi notched his second of the match with a solo effort that saw him knock it past his marker to run through and place his finish in the far right corner.
The half time whistle came with United looking like they were running away with it but Preston had different ideas after the break.
A miscontrol from Dan Armer just three minutes after the restart allowed Felipe Rodríguez-Gentile to steal in and finish past Will Murdock.
Ten minutes later, a loose pass from Tyler Fletcher gifted another chance to Preston that looked like it initially was going to be cleared but Rodríguez-Gentile eventually bundled it in for his second after some mayhem on the goal line.
United had completely lost control in the second half with Preston threatening to continue the comeback but for a series of great saves by Murdock.
A very generous penalty was awarded to United in the 89th minute which Amir Ibragimov finished off cheekily with a Panenka just under the crossbar to seal with 5-2 win.
United now move into the round of 16 where they will take on Chelsea, a rematch of last season’s Premier League North vs South final.
United: Murdock, Kamason, Munro (c), Armer, Amass, T. Fletcher, J. Fletcher (Thwaites 79), Fitzgerald (Bailey 91), Musa (Ibragimov 64), Obi (Bradbury 91), Scanlon
Unused subs: Byrne-Hughes, Plunkett
Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
Colm Murphy
A football obsessed Canadian who moved to England to enjoy the beautiful game. Colm has been keen follower of Manchester United’s famed academy since seeing a fresh faced Adnan Januzaj for the club’s u18s and has been writing about football with a focus on youth development for over 10 years.
