Chido Obi dropped to the bench for United’s u21s as they suffer defeat for the first time in the league

Manchester United u21s hosted Blackburn Rovers u21s at Leigh Sports Village on Friday night. After missing the mid-week win over Rochdale with a shoulder injury, Shea Lacey returned to the squad being named on the bench by Travis Binnion. The matchwinner against Rochdale, Chido Obi, also started from the bench as Gabriele Biancheri took the starting role for the night. Fans of the United academy were left disappointed though as they were unable to tune in to watch due to the club opting not to show the match on MUTV. First half United’s Albert Mills earned himself a yellow card just six minutes into the match with a professional foul, pulling back the shirt of the Blackburn attacker as they looked to counter. In the 14th minute, another counter attack for Blackburn saw Brandon Powell find Aodhan Doherty in the area who tucked the ball into the far right corner past William Murdock in the United goal. United looked to equalise through Victor Musa and Jayce Fitzgerald but both shot just over the bar. Mills’ night ended early in the 39th minute, picking up a second yellow card for a high challenge on Powell. Shortly after, Blackburn scored their second of the match through Josheph Boggan at the back post after United failed to clear the corner delivery. Blackburn looked to put the match to bed early by adding a third just before the break. Valentin Joseph squared the ball to Powell for a simple finish from close range. Second half Down a man and trailing by three, United had a monumental task to turn it around and avoid their first defeat of the Premier League 2 campaign. Dan Armer’s headed attempt from a corner midway through the half was the closest United came as Blackburn took full advantage of their extra man and controlled the proceedings. Boggan added his second and Blackburn’s fourth late on to seal the win, rounding Murdock and tapping in from close range. The loss ends a seven match winning streak for Travis Binnion’s side and United dropped their first points so far this season in the league. As a result, United drop to second place behind Ipswich Town. In a congested fixture list, the young Red Devils are back in action on Tuesday in the EFL Trophy away to Notts County. Match facts United: Murdock, McAllister (Kukonki 46), Armer, Mills, Helafu (Lacey 61), Devaney, T.Fletcher, Musa, Fitzgerald, Mather (Scanlon 46), Biancheri (Obi 77) Unused subs: Heath Goals: Doherty 15, Boggan 42, Powell 45+5 Booked: Mills, Devaney | Doherty Sent off: Mills Featured image George Wood 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.