Manchester United u21s took on Everton away on Friday night for their final match before the international break.
The match went ahead despite weather concerns, with strong winds and heavy rain making conditions difficult.
The United lineup saw Tyler Fredricson drop down from the first team to get some minutes under his belt and Jack Fletcher continue his experiment at left back.
First half
Fletcher made an impact in his new position from the off with a perfect diagonal ball to send through James Scanlon, whose shot was pushed up to and off the crossbar.
The whistle came quickly after though; a razor thin offside call meant it wouldn’t have stood anyway.
In the 12th minute, Fredricson picked out Gabriele Biancheri who cleverly laid it off first time for Jack Fletcher coming inside from left back to collect it at the edge of the box and smash the ball into the top right corner.
Everton had their first big chance of the match in the 21st minute through a counter attack which was fed to Jacob Beaumont-Clark on the right wing. But the 20 year old flashed his effort wide of the left post.
Everton came close again five minutes later. Their corner was delivered deep for a wide open header that was hit with power, but good positioning from Will Murdock made it an easy save in the end.
Despite United dominating possession, chances were even between the two sides throughout the first half. But it would end up 1-1 going into the break.
Moments before the half time whistle, Everton pulled it level through Omari Benjamin who headed in Joshua van Shoor’s rocket of a cross.
Second half
James Scanlon looked to restore United’s lead on the hour mark with a well-connected shot from 25 yards, but it flew just wide of the left post.
It took until the 78th minute for United to make the breakthrough though when Jayce Fitzgerald forced home what would be the eventual winner.
Substitute Sam Mather initially had his shot blocked before the ball fell to Fitzgerald and a fortunate bounce from the Everton defender’s tackle saw the ball hit off Fitzgerald and go past the keeper.
The win keeps United’s 100% record going after six matches. They remain on top of the table.
Travis Binnion’s side now have more than a two week break before they are back in action in the EFL Trophy away to Barnsley.
Meanwhile, a number of United’s young academy talents will be starring for their nations in the international break.
Match facts
United: Murdock, McAllister, Fredricson, (Munro 65), Armer, J. Fletcher, Devaney (c), T. Fletcher, Scanlon (Mantato 80), Fitzgerald, Musa (Mather 69), Biancheri (Obi 69)
Unused subs: Janusz
Featured 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.
