Manchester United u21s hosted Nottingham Forest u21s in Premier League 2 action on Monday night at Leigh Sports Village.
It was a strong United selection by Travis Binnion, with Chido Obi at his disposal after dropping back down from the first team.
But it was Bendito Mantato who provided the impact early on to give United the lead just three minutes in.
The move started with Sekou Kone playing through Jack Moorhouse over the top for the Irish midfielder to run onto and cutback to Mantato to finish from close range.
The visitors drew level in the 26th minute when Zyan Blake ran through on goal one on one with Elyh Harrison and slotted it past the United keeper.
Moorhouse’s driving run late in the half tore through Forest before he spread the ball to Mantato on the right wing to cross low and find Obi in the box to finish.
Manchester United 2-1 Nottingham Forest: Chido Obi with United’s goal #MUAcademy #MUNNFO #PL2 #LeighSportsVillage #MUFC pic.twitter.com/eVaytZ2uOR
— Benjamin Brazil (@bennymufc) April 7, 2025
United carried their momentum into the second half and extended the lead just four minutes after the restart.
A sensational effort from Obi saw him pick up the ball just past the halfway line before turning and driving past the Forest defenders and smashing the ball into the bottom left corner.
What seemed like it would be an easy cruise to victory was suddenly turned around when a mistake from Harrison saw him rush out of his goal into no man’s land, allowing Kyle McAdam to chip over his head and pull it back to 3-2.
In the 88th minute, former United academy product Adam Berry provided a near identical finish to catch out Harrison yet again and draw it level at 3-3.
Obi shifted past his marker in stoppage time to drive into the box and strike low but the save from Keehan Willows meant United had to settle for a draw.
There isn’t much time for recovery for Binnion’s side as they travel to Reading on Friday before rounding out the regular season with a trip to Wolves next Monday.
United: Harrison, Ogunneye, Munro, Fredricson (c), Murray, Kone, T. Fletcher, Moorhouse (J. Fletcher 62), Mantato (Biancheri 62), Obi, Scanlon
Unused subs: Murdock, Kamason, Rowe
Featured image Matt McNulty 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.
