JJ Gabriel grabbed Fergie time assist as Darren Fletcher’s U18s climb up to second in the league

Manchester United Under-18s travelled to Burnley for an afternoon kick-off on Tuesday. The unusual match time was the second of the week for the young Red Devils, with United’s Under-21s also involved in a lunchtime kick-off against Brighton Under-21s on Monday, a match they drew 1-1. First half Louie Bradbury tested the Burnley goal early on after being played through by Yuel Helafu, but Callum Feeney parried the Welsh striker’s effort away from danger. Darren Fletcher’s side were dealt a blow in the 19th minute when Bendito Mantato was forced off with an injury and replaced by Douka Nkoto. United controlled proceedings for most of the first 45 minutes, but it was not until first half added time that the young Red Devils made the breakthrough. Junior Brown cut onto his right foot and delivered an enticing cross from the left wing for Bradbury to run onto and poke past the keeper at the first attempt. Second half Brown nearly scored a goal of his own soon after the restart, forcing a big stop from Feeney after receiving the ball from Jariyah Shah. Feeney made a number of impressive saves on the day, the best of which came when Bradbury ran clear through for a one-on-one with the keeper and had his shot saved by Feeney’s outstretched foot. Brown then came agonisingly close to scoring when he saw his 25-yard effort tipped onto the crossbar by Feeney. Against the run of play, former United academy player and brother of James Scanlon, Luca Scanlon, levelled the scoring when he got on the end of a cross to head past Fred Heath. A draw seemed inevitable as the minutes ticked away, until Bradbury repeated his first-half feat with another stoppage-time goal. Reeling back the years in Fergie time, Helafu fed JJ Gabriel down the left wing, who did excellently to find Bradbury in the box, whose side-footed finish proved to be the winner. The win takes United up into second place in the league, but with little chance of catching runaway leaders Manchester City. Match facts United: Heath; McCormack, Mills, Armer (c), Helafu; Shah (Camacho 83), McEvoy (Bailey 74); Mantato (D.Nkoto 19), Gabriel, Brown (Rooney 83); Bradbury. Unused subs: Byrne-Hughes. Booked: McEvoy, Armer. Goals: Bradbury 45+1, 90+3 Feature image Carl Recine 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.