Manchester United u21s hosted Sparta Prague B in the Premier League International Cup on Saturday at Carrington.
It was an important must-win match if United were to stand any chance of advancing out of the group stage, but it saw fans completely cut off in their support of the famed United academy.
Played behind closed doors at Carrington, United provided no coverage of the match anywhere, even on social media or score updates on their webpage, leaving United fans following Sparta’s Czech language X account for updates on the match as the visiting club treated their club members to a live stream of the fixture.
On the pitch, it started well for United with Ethan Wheatley providing an early lead after being played in behind the Sparta backline by James Scanlon to chip the ball over the keeper with a neat finish.
Wheatley then came close to doubling the lead when he forced a good save from Joeri Heerkens in the Sparta goal.
Things took a turn late in the half though as the visitors drew the match level in the 38th minute with a close range finish from Hynek Hruška.
Just a minute later, Radek Šiler gave Sparta the lead with a long range effort finding the corner.
A nightmare three minutes was then capped off when Hynek Hruška converted the cross delivered into the United area to make it 1-3 going into half time.
On the hour mark, Dan Gore threatened with a driving run into the Sparta box which ended with a rebound that looked like Wheatley would latch onto, but a moment of last-ditch defending saw the ball cleared before the United striker could pounce.
Travis Binnion turned to the bench with attacking changes which saw the introduction of Chido Obi, Ethan Ennis, and Malachi Sharpe.
The latter of the three created an opening early after his introduction but ultimately the strike towards goal was blocked by the Sparta skipper.
Despite the changes, the second half ended scoreless from both sides to give Sparta Prague B the 1-3 victory.
The loss means United sit down the table with only two points from three matches and are officially eliminated from the Premier League International Cup with a final group match with Nordsjælland to come in January.
United: Graczyk, Missin, Kukonki (Obi 75), Kingdon, Fredricson (Munro 46), Murray, T. Fletcher (Devaney 75), Scanlon (Sharpe 63), Gore, Williams (Ennis 63), Wheatley
Unused subs: Murdock, McAllister
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.
