Academy Match Report: Brackley Town 2-1 Manchester United u21s

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·16 settembre 2025

Academy Match Report: Brackley Town 2-1 Manchester United u21s

Manchester United U21s took on Brackley Town away from home on Tuesday night in the National League Cup.

The match offered Travis Binnion’s side their first chance to get some points on the board after their opening match at Tamworth was abandoned due to an injury to Sekou Kone last month.

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First half

An early mistake from United gave Brackley the lead in the 7th minute.

Rhys Bennett was unaware of the pressure behind him, as he ended up losing the ball to Danny Waldron, who ran in and finished past Will Murdock.

Chido Obi looked to do the same at the other end, winning the ball high up the pitch before taking a snapshot outside the box which forced a good save from the keeper Jonathan Maxted.

Chido Obi came close again in the 20th minute, when he cut in from the left before unleashing an effort on goal. The shot was deflected and almost looped into the top right corner but was clawed away by Maxted.

In the 24th minute, more sloppy play at the back from United gave away an unnecessary corner from which Brackley subsequently doubled their lead from.

Unable to clear the delivery, Connor Hall took down the ball centrally and spun to hit it on the half volley which slipped underneath Murdock, who saw it late as it came through a crowd of bodies.

Bendito Mantato then forced another good save from Maxted later in the half, which was a common theme on the night, as Brackley retained their 2-0 lead going into the break.

Second half

The second-half saw a tactical shift from United, with the young Red Devils switching to a back three at times with Jacob Devaney splitting the centre backs to allow Mantato and Jaydan Kamason to play higher up the pitch.

The move gave Kamason a lot of joy on the right wing as he skipped past his marker time after time. On one occasion, Kamason found James Scanlon in the box who chested down the ball expertly, but couldn’t keep his volley on target.

It was one-way traffic throughout the second half, with United the only ones posing any sort of danger.

Chido Obi finally put the ball in the net in the 64th minute, but his celebration was short-lived.

He stole the ball away from the defender before finishing expertly, but the referee chalked off the goal for an extremely soft foul committed by United striker.

Tyler Fletcher and Gabriele Biancheri drew more incredible saves from Maxted who was announced man of the match at St. James’ Park on the night.

It looked like United wouldn’t be able beat the keeper until deep into injury time, when Devaney headed in at the front post from Thwaites’ corner.

It was too little too late for the U21 team though, as Brackley came away with the three points.

United U21s will now turn their attention back to the league, where they take on rivals Liverpool on Sunday September 21.

Binnion’s side have opened the league with three wins from three including a win over Manchester City last time out.