Manager Ruben Amorim and Darren Fletcher watched Manchester United U21s beat Southampton U21s 5-1 in the Premier League 2 fixture played at the Carrington Training Centre on Saturday afternoon.
Technical director Jason Wilcox and head of academy Nic Cox also watched the game from the stands.
Tyler Fletcher opened the scoring in the 15th minute, volleying the ball home perfectly from Malachi Sharpe’s pass.
Three minutes later, the home side were awarded a penalty after Jack Moorhouse was brought down. Ethan Wheatley stepped up to convert it, but his effort was saved by goalkeeper Adli Mohamed.
United kept pushing for the second of the afternoon and were eventually rewarded in the 32nd minute. Dan Gore beat his marker beautifully before striking the ball into the bottom left corner.
Moorhouse gave United a three-goal cushion in the 53rd minute. He timed his run perfectly to put Gore’s through-ball in the back of the net.
Wheatley made amends for his earlier miss from the penalty spot by scoring the host’s fourth goal with a curled finish three minutes before the hour mark.
Southampton pulled one back in the 62nd minute. Baylee Dipepa headed the ball home after a lapse of concentration from Man United’s defence.
Moorhouse restored the home side’s four-goal lead in stoppage time. The 19-year-old exchanged passes with Ashton Missin and evaded his markers before beating the goalkeeper.
Man United have now registered back-to-back wins in the Premier League 2 after winning just one of their previous three fixtures. They sit fifth in the table with 18 points garnered from 10 games.
Amorim will have been delighted to see the youngsters play brilliantly. He has already shown his desire to trust young players.
He recently named Godwill Kukonki in the travelling squad to face Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
It is unlikely that he will name any of the U21 players in the matchday squad for tomorrow’s clash with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Some of them may be handed the chance to train with the first team in the coming weeks based on today’s performance.
Article written by Henry Thornton .
