Manchester United U21s took on Wolverhampton Wanderers in their final match of the regular season on Monday night.
United controlled the possession during the opening exchanges but chances were carved out at both ends of the pitch.
United’s first opportunity fell to Gabriele Biancheri whose header flew over the bar from a corner inside the opening 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, the hosts’ Luke Rawlings saw his strike fly wide of the left post.
For all of United’s possession, they couldn’t test Josh Gracey in the Wolves goal as Chido Obi and James Scanlon both saw their efforts blocked.
In the end, it was the home side who broke the deadlock just moments before the break.
An excellent free-kick from Tom Edozie found the bottom right corner past Elyh Harrison to give Wolves the lead in the 44th minute.
United looked to respond quickly after the break, as Obi aimed toward the bottom left corner but was stopped by a big hand from Gracey.
The young Reds finally found the equaliser in the 52nd minute through Tyler Fletcher who finished from inside the box from Bendito Mantato’s pass.
Travis Binnion’s side chased a winner but couldn’t find the breakthrough with Scanlon coming closest as he forced a good save out of Gracey.
Substitute Amir Ibragimov was denied late on as his effort directed towards the bottom right corner of the goal was saved.
Ultimately the final whistle blew with the score locked at 1-1 as both sides shared the spoils.
The result sees United finish the season in fifth place, qualifying for the end of season play-offs where they will play the 12th placed side in the league.
Currently, United’s opponents in the first round of the play-offs is set to be Everton but it could potentially be the other team from Merseyside if Liverpool win their final match of the season on Friday.
As finishers in the top 12, United have also secured their place in next season’s Premier League International Cup.
United: Harrison, Murray (c) (Fredricson 61), Munro, Kukonki, Rowe, Kone, T. Fletcher (Ibragimov 61), Scanlon (Thwaites 73), Mantato (Musa 73), Obi, Biancheri (Ajayi 73)
Feature image Ben Roberts photo 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.
