Manchester United u18s hosted Derby County for a day time kick off on Friday afternoon at Carrington.
United started off on the front foot, assuming control of possession and threatening with a Gabriele Biancheri header that sailed just over the bar.
But it was the visitors who took the lead on the 10th minute mark against the run of play.
A powerful strike from Cruz Allen from the edge of the box left Will Murdock no chance in the United goal.
The two sides exchanged blows, with Biancheri being denied from another header before Murdock pulled out a top save to stop Charles Ebuka.
Ebuka didn’t miss next time though, lashing the ball into the net just after the hour mark when Murdock couldn’t keep hold of a whipped-in free-kick.
United pulled one back before the break. Some nice one-touch passing saw Biancheri collect the ball in the box and calmly slide it through to Mantato to finish from the right side.
Into the second half and United were hot out of the gates again. This time Amir Ibragimov and James Scanlon were denied by resolute defending.
Scanlon would be the one to draw it level at 2-2 with his 23rd goal of the season in all competitions.
Shea Lacey had danced his way into the box until he was eventually tackled, but the ball fell straight to Scanlon, who obliged with a quick finish.
Lacey then gave United the lead in the 77th minute. After a series of shots were blocked in the Derby area, Lacey sat down his defender with a fake shot to cut onto his right and slot into the bottom left corner.
The drama of the match was reminiscent of the first team though as Derby soon pulled it level again at 3-3 through Tristan Gill.
Late heroics are in the culture of United though, and the academy is no different. Lacey drove inside from the right wing to play a reverse pass to Tyler Fletcher on the byline, who squared across the box for Victor Musa to score the winner.
The win leaves United in second place, trailing leaders Manchester City by two points. Adam Lawrence’s side take on Everton next.
United: Murdock, Devaney, Munro, Armer, Plunkett (Lusale 67), T. Fletcher, Ibragimov (Lacey 67), Mantato, Baumann (Thwaites 61), Scanlon (Mills 90+3), Biancheri (Musa 61)
Feature image Lewis Storey 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.
