Manchester United u21s hosted Charlton Athletic u21s for a behind closed doors friendly today.
United had revealed Travis Binnion’s u21s would play against Charlton on Friday but it is believed the match actually took place on Thursday at Carrington.
The Peoples Person understand that the two sides faced off in two 60 minute matches where they shared the spoils.
Charlton were on fire in the first match, securing a 3-0 victory.
United then found their revenge in the second match, winning 2-0 with a changed squad.
Tough game
Up against a senior Jamaica international, Charlton’s Kaheim Dixon proved a handful for United’s backline to deal with.
The 20 year old already has 18 international caps for his native Jamaica, but has found himself on the fringes of Charlton’s first team since making the move to England last summer.
It was a match of mistakes for United as Dixon opened the scoring after latching onto a bad pass at the back by United to score from long range.
Charlton then countered down the left wing following a United free-kick to score their second with a well-taken volley.
United were visibly shaking off the cobwebs on the day as another giveaway in midfield high up the pitch saw Charlton counter to create Dixon’s third goal of the match.
In a test of what it takes against a senior opponent, United’s side included a number of those who have been pushing towards Ruben Amorim’s first team themselves.
Harry Amass and Godwill Kukonki both played on the day after being left out of Amorim’s squad for the USA tour.
Dixon’s ability to find the space between the two inside the box for his second goal may be an indicator of the lessons required before either is prepared for a more permanent spot in Amorim’s squad.
Others in the United line-up for the first match included Ethan Wheatley and Sam Mather.
In the second match, United turned it around with a 2-0 win where it is understood that both teams fielded younger line-ups.
What’s next?Joe Thompson who sadly lost his battle to cancer in April.
Loan exits are then expected for some of the more experienced players in the group like Amass and Wheatley, whereas the younger players will join an u19s contingent going to Croatia for the Mladen Ramljak Memorial Tournament in early August.
Feature 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.
