Manchester United u21s hosted Tottenham Hotspur in Premier League 2 action on Friday night at Leigh Sports Village.
United started brightly with Malachi Sharpe clipping the top of the bar after just a minute of play.
In contrast to the first team’s FA Cup match that was being played at the same time nearby at Old Trafford, the chances were flowing in the u21s.
Tottenham forced a big save from Elyh Harrison from a corner when Max Robson’s flicked on header looked to be creeping in under the bar but for the fully stretched Harrison, who pushed away to safety.
The two sides exchanged half chances but it was a mistake from Spurs’ keeper Aaron Maguire which led to the match’s opening goal.
Hesitation from Maguire allowed Sharpe to press and force a rushed clearance that ricocheted off of Chido Obi back to Sharpe to run through and finish into an open net.
Sharpe then had a chance to add a second after a nice move from Sekou Kone to open space in the box but Sharpe dragged his shot wide of the target, leaving the score 1-0 at the break.
Into the second half, Kone continued to shine with a defence splitting through ball to set Jack Moorhouse through on goal. But the midfielder was denied by a good save.
Obi had his first chance of the match when Harry Amass delivered a fabulous cross to the back post, but Obi’s header went straight into the arms of the keeper.
Up the other end, Spurs’ number nine Oliver Irow had a headed chance of his own but Harrison was up to the task again with quick reflexes to get down and save.
Moorhouse’s driving runs caused Spurs trouble throughout the match and on one occasion the Irish international found the overlapping run of Amass who crossed onto the head of Tommy Rowe to direct off the crossbar.
Amass and Moorhouse linked up again in the 73rd minute to double United’s lead with a spectacular goal.
Amass was pinned in the corner under pressure but managed to distribute an exception ball down the left channel into space for Moorhouse to collect. He charged 50 yards down the pitch and into the box to finish low into the bottom right corner.
Another mistake from the Spurs keeper almost gifted United a third when he passed the ball straight to Obi but the striker’s attempt was cleared off the line.
Two goals were enough though to secure the three points for Travis Binnion’s side, who have been in fine form of late and see themselves now third in the league table, just four points off the top.
United host more London opposition next with Fulham coming to town on Monday 17th February.
United: Harrison, Kamason (Munro 62), Fredricson, Murray, Amass, McAllister, Kone, Rowe (Scanlon 71), Sharpe, Obi, Moorhouse (J. Fletcher 79)
Unused subs: Myles, Musa
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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.
