Manchester United U18s hosted Wolverhampton Wanderers at Carrington on Tuesday night.
Adam Lawrence had to deal with a heavily weakened side as he looked to get his team back on winning track after a recent dip in form.
With many players pushing for first team and U21 inclusion, it provided a first U18 start for Louie Bradbury and Jariyah Shah from the U16s.
United started brightly with Amir Ibragimov’s volleyed attempt from Dante Plunkett’s cross being blocked off the line.
Soon after, Ibragimov drove past the Wolves defence and was taken down to win his side a free kick on the edge of the box. Ibragimov delivered a clipped ball deep onto the head of Albert Mills but his header looped over the bar.
In the 10th minute, a great bit of one-touch passing between Gabriele Biancheri and James Bailey ended with a square pass to Bradbury in the box who hit the crossbar with a snapshot.
The tempo then fizzled out of the match for sometime until United took the lead in the 38th minute.
Jaydan Kamason did well on the right wing to beat his marker before cutting the ball back to Bradbury who hit it first time past the keeper with the inside of his right boot.
The lead didn’t last long for United though as Wolves levelled the score just two minutes later. A looping cross was out of the reach of Cameron Byrne-Hughes in the United goal, making for an easy header at the back post for Jake Wilcox.
Ibragimov and Bradbury combined just before the break but Bradbury couldn’t beat the keeper for his second, leaving the score deadlocked at 1-1 at the end of the first-half.
The second-half continued in much the same vein as the first with United on top but struggling to find the finish.
Ibragimov somehow missed a wide open header from six yards out before Biancheri hit the back of the net moments later.
It turned out to be a repeat of the weekend against Newcastle though as Biancheri’s goal was ruled out for offside despite being very tight and possibly onside.
Samuel Lusale was introduced off the bench to good effect, supplying a number of dangerous crosses from the right wing.
But it seemed like it would not be United’s day in front of goal with Victor Musa hitting the crossbar before another effort was cleared off the line.
Ultimately, United found the winner late on but not from a boot of one of the reds. Kamason’s cross was inadvertently put in by Saheed Olagunju for an own goal to give United all three points.
The victory keeps United on the tails of Manchester City, just two points behind their cross-town rivals who top the table.
United: Byrne-Hughes, Kamason, Mills, Armer, Plunkett, T. Fletcher (c), Shah (Lusale 61), Bailey, Ibragimov, Bradbury (Musa 61), Biancheri (Thwaites 72)
Unused subs: McCormack, Heath
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.
