Academy Match Report: Man United U21s 1-3 Newcastle U21s | OneFootball

Manchester United Under-21s hosted Newcastle United Under-21s at Leigh Sports Village on Friday night in their final regular season match of the campaign.

Going into the final match, United were level on points at the top of the table with Chelsea but trailed the London side on goal difference.

Adam Lawrence was without Shea Lacey and Tyler Fletcher, but Jim Thwaites and Victor Musa returned to the squad after training under Michael Carrick during the first team’s trip to Ireland.

First half

Needing a result if they wanted to clinch the top spot heading into the play-offs, United got off on the wrong foot as Newcastle took the lead within four minutes.

A long ball into the left channel saw Park Seung-Soo run free before galloping past Sonny Aljofree into the box and squaring to Matheos Ferreira for an easy finish.

Things went from bad to worse for the young Red Devils when Newcastle doubled their lead in just the sixth minute.

United were caught out by the pace of the Newcastle attackers again as a hopeful ball over the top was latched onto by Sean Neave, who lifted the ball over Will Murdock, who got caught in no man’s land.

Newcastle nearly made it 0-3 soon after when they carved through United’s right-hand side again, but Murdock did well to make the save. United’s first venture forward saw Godwill Kukonki go down in the box, but the referee waved play on for what was a well-timed challenge.

It was largely one-way traffic through the first half in favour of the visitors, who struck the crossbar moments before the break.

Second half

Having seen enough from the opening 45 minutes, Lawrence turned to the bench at the break to introduce Thwaites, James Overy and Samuel Lusale.

The changes gave United an immediate lift, which saw Jack Moorhouse race down the left wing and cross low into the box, where the ball fell to the feet of Musa, whose shot was blocked.

In the 54th minute, Thwaites took a short corner before collecting it back and delivering deep to the back post for Musa to head home, pulling it back to 1-2.

United were on top for the entirety of the second half and thought they should have had a penalty when Noah Ajayi was grabbed entering the box, but the referee did not entertain the shouts.

Ultimately, United were unable to find the equaliser as Newcastle sealed the win with an injury-time goal after miscommunication between Murdock and Rafe McCormack.

Elsewhere at the top of the table, Chelsea also lost but held onto the top spot due to goal difference.

United now move into the play-offs, where they will play the 15th-placed side in the first round, which is currently Aston Villa but may change with games still to play over the next week.

Match facts

United: Murdock, Jackson (Overy 46), Aljofree, Armer, Kukonki, McCormack, McAllister (Ajayi 62), Musa, J.Fletcher (Thwaites 46), Moorhouse, Obi (Lusale 46)

Unused subs: Byrne-Hughes

Booked: Armer

Goals: Musa 54

Featured image James Fearn via Getty Images

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