Manchester United u18s started their FA Youth Cup campaign on Wednesday night, hosting Coventry City at Leigh Sports Village.
After a shock early exit from the FA Youth Cup last season, Adam Lawrence’s side set out to not make the same mistake again as they look to capture the only trophy that eluded them last season.
They did exactly that in the third minute when Gabriele Biancheri gave the Red Devils an early lead. Jacob Devaney delivered an excellent cross field pass to put James Scanlon down the right wing. He squared to the centre for Biancheri to tap in at the back post.
Still within the opening 10 minutes, Devaney played a defence-splitting 40 yard pass to put Biancheri through one on one with the keeper, who the Welshman rounded before finishing into the empty net.
With the action all going one way, United made it 3-0 in just the 13th minute when Reece Munro broke the lines to spot Biancheri. He turned provider, holding the ball up and poking it through to Chido Obi, who slowed down and picked his spot in the bottom right corner.
A clash of heads in midfield resulted in a lengthy stoppage which took the pace out of the game and left Devaney sporting a big strapping around his head.
Late in the half Obi’s chipped attempt was blocked straight to Biancheri, who looked to complete his hat-trick but was unable to keep his effort on target. This kept the score at 3-0 at the break.
The second half continued in much the same vein as the first, one way traffic. Shortly after the restart, Obi was taken down after holding up the ball well at the edge of the box. The striker placed the ball down to take the free kick himself and delivered the goods as he struck it low and under the wall into the bottom left corner to make it 4-0.
Three minutes later, it was Biancheri’s turn to be taken down after holding the ball up in the area to win a penalty which he would take himself. Looking for the same left corner, Biancheri’s stutter step run up left him without enough power in the shot to beat the keeper.
In the 78th minute, Biancheri won the race to the hat-trick with another close range finish. Victor Musa found Godwill Kukonki charging into the box unmarked. He slid the ball to his right for Biancheri to finish the scoring at 5-0.
The win puts United into the next round where they will meet Preston North End at home and marks the end of their very successful 2024.
United: Murdock, Kamason, Munro, Armer (Mills 65), Amass (Kukonki 72), Devaney (c) (Thwaites 66), T. Fletcher, Scanlon (Musa 60), Fitzgerald (Baumann 60), Biancheri, Obi (Ibragimov 72)
Unused subs: Byrne-Hughes
Featured image Lewis Storey via Getty Images
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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.
