Son of United legend strikes alongside JJ Gabriel to send United U18s into Cup final

Manchester United Under-18s hosted West Ham United at Carrington on Wednesday in the semi-finals of the Premier League Cup. The two sides met in the competition last year as well, with the London club coming out victorious on penalties before going on to lift the trophy. Sir Jim Ratcliffe was present at Carrington for the match, watching along the touchline with Omar Berrada, Jason Wilcox, and Stephen Torpey. The visitors included some familiar names for United fans. Chido Obi’s younger brother, Chuk Obi, led the line as their number nine, and former United academy player Majid Balogun featured off the bench. First half United controlled possession throughout the first half, but there were few clear chances for either side. Jim Thwaites provided dangerous set-piece delivery early on, which found Dan Armer in the area, but the United defender could not cleanly connect with the ball to direct it on goal. West Ham made the breakthrough in the 32nd minute after United turned over the ball in midfield. Joel Kerr pounced on the loose ball before driving forward and finishing into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. Moments before the break, Armer split through the West Ham backline to feed Jacob Watson into the left channel, who cut back to JJ Gabriel to finish from close range, increasing his tally to 20 goals for the season. Second half The second half continued in much the same way as the first, but West Ham began to threaten more on the counter-attack. Cameron Byrne-Hughes was called into action to deny Andre Dike before Jethro Medine’s curling effort crashed off the crossbar. At the other end, Noah Ajayi troubled the West Ham defenders, but a good recovery saw the winger’s effort blocked. Extra time With the score deadlocked at 1-1, the match moved into extra time just as it did last season. Kai Rooney was introduced off the bench at the start of extra time and almost made an immediate impact, rounding the keeper, but he could only hit the side netting after being forced to a wide angle. West Ham threatened through Dike again, but Byrne-Hughes got a strong hand to the ball to turn it around the post. It was not until the second half of extra time that a bit of magic from Junior Brown put United ahead. Substitute Douka Nkoto spread the ball to Brown on the right wing, who cut inside onto his left boot and curled the ball into the far corner. Rooney then rolled back the years to emulate his father with a clever one-two to break through on goal and finish low past the keeper to seal the 3-1 win. United will now meet Crystal Palace in the Premier League Cup final at Selhurst Park. Match facts United: Byrne-Hughes; Helafu, Mills, Armer (c), Watson; McCormack (McEvoy 86), Thwaites, Gabriel; Brown (Shah 111), Bradbury (Rooney 91), Ajayi (D. Nkoto 106). Unused subs: Heath. Booked: Armer, McCormack, Thwaites, Helafu. Goals: Gabriel 42, Brown 107, Rooney 110. West Ham: Hooper; Montague (Jonyla 108), Leacock (c), Fejokwu, Scanlon; Medine (Balogun 81), Brooks (Unwin 73), Kerr (Chigwada 98), Dike, Morris; Obi. Unused subs: Awesu. Booked: Brooks, Kerr, Leacock, Scanlon. Goal: Kerr 32. Featured image James Fearn 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.