Ayden Heaven heavily involved in disastrous u21s National League Cup clash

Manchester United U21s travelled away to Solihull Moors on Tuesday night in the National League Cup. Travis Binnion’s side defeated Rochdale 0-2 last time out in the competition with goals from James Scanlon and Chido Obi but the latter wasn’t present this time out. United’s Louis Jackson is currently on loan at Solihull but could not feature in the match against his parent club. First half A shaky start for United saw Dan Armer misplace his pass at the back to give Solihull a chance but Ayden Heaven was on hand to clear off the goal line. Heaven started the match strongly and was soon called into question again, when he swept across to the right to make a last-ditch tackle after Solihull found space in behind. United had their first big chance on the half hour mark when Will Murdock’s long kick was completely missed by the Solihull defence, allowing James Scanlon to run through on goal. But his effort was straight at the keeper, who did well to hold onto the ball. Five minutes later, United made the breakthrough. Hitting on the break, Jack Fletcher threaded the eye of the needle to put Bendito Mantato through on goal. He shrugged off his marker before finishing low past the keeper. United had grown into the match but Solihull pulled one back against the run of play shortly after. Dan Armer cleared the initial long ball but another hopeful ball over the top caught Heaven off guard allowing Emmanuel Sonupe to run straight through on goal and finish past Murdock. A minute later, the home side took the lead just before the break. Sloppy defending saw United fail to get a challenge in before Darius Lipsiuc scored at the back post. Second half The second half started with more lapses in concentration at the back for United as Armer was caught in possession but captain Jacob Devaney made an important block to deny the effort. Solihull scored their third goal in the 53rd minute with a long ball down into the right channel which was collected too easily and squared to Bradley Stevenson for an easy finish from close range. Up the other end, Jayce Fitzgerald supplied a nice pass to pick out Scanlon in the box but the Gibraltar international’s strike sailed wide of the goal. With United chasing the match, Mantato got the better of his marker on the right wing before being taken down in the box but the referee waved away the protests for what looked to be a stonewall penalty. It wasn’t to be for United on the night though and a late heavily deflected goal sealed the 4-1 win for Solihull. The loss means United have been knocked out of the National League Cup with a match still to come against Tamworth. A rescheduled encounter after the previous match was called off following a head injury to Sekou Kone. Match facts United: Murdock, Fitzgerald (Thwaites 59), Armer, Heaven (Overy 66) Leon, Devaney (C), T.Fletcher, J.Fletcher, Mantato, Biancheri, Scanlon Unused subs: Byrne-Hughes, Kukonki, McAllister, Ibragimov Goals: Mantato 35 Feature image Gareth Copley via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. 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. You can follow him X: RedYouthUnited.