Manchester United Under-18s boss Adam Lawrence has admitted there is a palpable sense of excitement surrounding Jaydan Kamason, following his sensational performance in Friday’s FA Youth Cup victory over Arsenal.
United booked their place in the semi-finals of the competition with a 3-2 win, in a thrilling match that was settled in extra time.
The Red Devils took the lead in the 36th minute courtesy of a fine strike by Jack Fletcher. Arsenal responded six minutes later through Louie Copley. The Gunners went on to take the lead shortly after the break as Max Dowman converted from the penalty spot.
United fought back and drew level in the 84th minute, with right-back Kamason unleashing a powerful strike into the corner of the net. Extra time was needed to separate the two sides and it was substitute Bendito Mantato who produced the decisive strike in the 99th minute to sink Arsenal.
A thriller at the Emirates 😲
Arsenal and Manchester United met in the #FAYouthCup quarter-finals, and the game had it all 😱 pic.twitter.com/Z5g0p8BESe
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) February 28, 2025
There were several good performers but Kamason especially stood out. Beyond his goal, he came up with a brilliant last-man tackle to deny Ceadach O’Neill a shot in the area at 0-0. He was solid defensively and very threatening down the right.
After the final whistle, Lawrence spoke to Manchester Evening News and heaped praise on Kamason while also discussing his first-team prospects.
Lawrence told Steve Railston, “In terms of training opportunities and being on the first-team radar, we speak about the U18s and Under-21s regularly and people above us know who the players are. Jaydan has been in real good form of late, so he’s in that position where he’s put in some real strong and consistent performances, as you’d expect from a second year U18 player here.”
“He’s in a real good space. He’s such a fantastic kid, he’s got real good athleticism and he likes to get forward on the outside. And listen, he’ll be watching that goal back for a while. It was a tremendous moment for him to score that goal to bring it back to 2-2 in that moment, a lovely occasion for him and he’s a top kid, so I’m really pleased for him.”
“We’d like to try take credit for the boy’s improvement and stuff, but to be honest, each of the players have individual development plans and things they want to keep as their strengths and things they want to improve, so we’ll do individual technical work and small group work.”
“Then we’ll break it down into specific positions and then it’s up the players to really focus on what they want to improve, so for Jaydan, there’s been no magic wand. He’s made steady and consistent through deliberate practice and, like you say, he’s improved his final ball.”
“He’s always been a full-back that has liked to get forward and he can wear people down, he’s wiry, he’s very athletic and can get on top of people and really impact the game in the final third.”
“We’re really excited about him and think that he has real big potential, but he’s a humble kid and he’ll know he needs to get better and that he’s got things to work on.”
Lawrence continued, “I think to be able to come back twice in a game like this and win it extra-time, it’s really special. What we do know about the boys is it’s not an accident in terms of the attitude that we see every day and their mentality toward getting better and improving.”
“They have history at being strong in the latter stages. We always felt we could score and have that moment, but there’s always a chance it doesn’t quite happen. I thought they showed character.”
“We felt we had the game under good control. Arsenal were set up in a way tonight and were well-coached. They had a clear idea of what they wanted to do and they were a main threat in those transition moments, mainly through the boy Dowman and some of their attacking players.”
“It was about being really extreme with the control we had, making more passes, managing the spaces and attacking when it was really obvious. If you just attack every time you get it or leave the game too open, it ends up getting a bit basketball-like, so we tried to manage it.”
“It’s not always easy in those situations because of the emotion of the occasion and the game was being stretched, there were tired legs and tired minds, but we did enough.”
Asked about the substitutes and the impact they had on the game, Lawrence answered, “Very pleased, but not surprised because we have a really talented squad. Hand on my heart, if any of the seven subs had started the game today, I’d of had no problem with that, but you have to select a line up.”
“I’m very pleased with how they performed when they came on. It’s not easy coming on at that stage and as a coach, you’re always trying to think of what you can do.”
“Bendito was a real threat, Samuel Lusale off the left side and I thought Jimmy added freshness, control and gave us some real quality. Amir added quality and energy, and even Godwill coming to play extra-time.”
United will take on either Aston Villa or Plymouth Argyle in the semi-final of the Youth Cup. If they manage to get past this stage, a final against Manchester City could be on the cards.
Lawrence emphasised that facing City would be great but they’re currently focused on the upcoming games.
Featured image James Fearn via Getty Images
Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
