Manchester United’s Under-18s progressed into the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday night with an excellent team performance to convincingly defeat Chelsea at Leigh Sports Village.
James Scanlon’s double and Chido Obi’s hat-trick grabbed the headlines in a 5-1 victory, but the performance from every young Red involved was excellent as they created special memories in their Academy journey.
While the Youth Cup is just one competition of many that our young players compete in, United’s association with the tournament stretches back to the 1950s when the Busby Babes won the first five editions. That history and the prestige which comes with the Youth Cup adds an extra element to the games, which Adam Lawrence’s side dealt with well at Leigh in midweek.
‘A REAL TEAM EFFORT’
“I’m delighted for the boys and the group,”
Lawrence told club media post-match.
“It was a real team effort. When you come into these games, there’s always some apprehension — you know it’s about how you deal with it on the night, how you perform. Overall, I think you’d have to say we deserved the result and the victory. Like any tournament, you’ve got to take each game as it comes and there’ll be different challenges within them. We’ve obviously overcome that tonight.
“We have a lot of respect for Chelsea as an Academy. We know they have some really good individuals and a good squad. We’ve had a couple of really good games with them of late. When you get to this stage, there’s gonna be different questions posed of the group but we rose to that.”
‘SPECIAL MEMORIES’
“Every youth player obviously remembers their Youth Cup experiences,” Lawrence continued.
“We can’t have it as the only benchmark for the players in terms of their youth team journey but it can give the players some special memories. Knowing it was Arsenal away in the next round — hopefully to be played at the Emirates — was a nice carrot for us today. Again, that’ll be something we’ll look forward to and something for the boys to remember, so obviously nice to get into that next round.”
Indeed, United will now face Arsenal in the FA Youth Cup quarter-final, with fixture details — including the venue — still to be confirmed.
LAWRENCE ON CHIDO OBI
“It was a really good night for both of the goalscorers. I thought the two of them had really good performances on the whole aside from the goals. Obviously Chido’s a natural goalscorer, he wants to score goals and get himself into those positions, but I was really pleased with him today just in terms of his link-up play — not just stretching and running in behind but recognising when to show into feet, how to use his body to shield the ball and when to bring others into play.
SCANLON RELISHES DOUBLE
“It was nice for Scanners,”
Lawrence continued.
“He got the rewards for the runs that he was making, the positions that he was making up and he’s a really good finisher with both feet, so nice for him to get the goals and also a header for him!”
Scanlon himself said he was “very happy.”
“It was a great team result and to get two goals myself, I’m obviously delighted,” he said.
“It’s obviously a really high level game against Chelsea but it’s the games you want to be involved in as an Academy player and I think we rose to the challenge well and, on the night, we were the better team.
“Obviously it’s the games and the nights you want to be involved in as a player. The FA Youth Cup has a special feeling obviously with the suits, playing here under the lights. Great game, great night.”
A NEW FILM WITH SIR ALEX FERGUSON
Lifeblood: United at Heart is available to watch for MUTV subscribers from 19:00 GMT on Thursday 13 January. This 15-minute edition of our popular Academy documentary series focuses on Sir Alex Ferguson’s enduring legacy within our youth set-up and follows the great man on a very special day.
COMING UP THIS WEEKEND
We have three live games for you on MUTV in the coming days. The U18s host Newcastle United on Saturday lunchtime before a Tuesday evening fixture against Wolves, while the U21s are in action versus Fulham at Leigh Sports Village on Monday night.
MUTV INFO AT A GLANCE
Saturday 15 February | UNITED U18s v Newcastle | 12:30 | Live on MUTV
Monday 17 February | UNITED U21s v Fulham | 19:00 | Live on MUTV
Tuesday 18 February | UNITED U18s v Wolves | 19:00 | Live on MUTV