Manchester United U18s hosted Manchester City at Carrington on Saturday morning.
The Manchester derby has often been regarded as the title decider with the two Manchester clubs dominating the U18s Premier League North in recent years.
Both sides came into the match with 100% win records.
First half
JJ Gabriel was the first to threaten the goal for either side when he shifted onto his left to strike from 20 yards out which was pushed around the post for a corner.
A minute later, United’s 14-year-old star opened the scoring after an exceptional bit of play.
Gabriel twisted inside and out to create space away from Leke Drake and placed the ball into the bottom right corner with precision.
An unfortunate injury saw United lose their physical presence at the back in Godwill Kukonki, who was replaced by Jayden Ngwashi before the half-hour mark.
In the 31st minute, James Bailey was fouled after putting in a couple of bone-crunching tackles of his own.
The free-kick was in Jim Thwaites territory, and he lived up to his reputation with a sensationally whipped shot into the top left corner, an effort that would beat even the best senior goalkeepers.
United’s Fred Heath wasn’t tested until late in the half, when Kaden Braithwaite took his chance from long range but Heath dealt with it comfortably to keep the score 2-0 going into the break.
Second half
A bust-up early in the second half sparked a fire in the visitors, who physically stood taller than the young United group which contained two U15 players.
Miscommunication at the back gifted City a goal back in the 48th minute. Tyrone Samba’s cross to the back post was left for Heath who got caught flat footed as the ball crept inside the post.
A series of fouls on United players took the thrust out of United’s play as City began to dominate but the blue side of Manchester were lucky to have 11 players on the pitch.
A very late lunge on Heath from Teddie Lamb, who was already on a yellow card, should have warranted a second but the referee let it go.
City then levelled the scoring at 2-2 from a short corner which Heath could only push back into danger for Floyd Samba to finish.
The match was only going one way at this point as City took the lead just a minute later through a long range effort from Harrison Miles.
It went from bad to worse soon after as Rafe McCormack’s back pass to Heath was short, leading to the United keeper to charge out and take down the City forward to earn a straight red card.
Floyd Samba added his second of the match from the resulting free kick to seal a 2-4 victory for Manchester City.
A disappointing day for United, as Darren Fletcher’s side dropped points for the first time this season. Not only that but they also conceded a goal for the first time this campaign.
United will look to bounce back next week with a trip to Middlesbrough in the Premier League Cup coming up next.
Match facts
United: Heath, Helafu, Mills, Kukonki (Ngwashi 29), McCormack, Thwaites, Ibragimov (c), Nkoto (Watson 83), Bailey (Shah 76), Lusale, Gabriel (Brown 76).
Sub not used: McEvoy.
Goals: Gabriel 15, Thwaites 32 | T Samba 48, F Samba 67, 84, Miles 69
Feature image James Fearn 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.
