Manchester United’s under-18s side defeated Leeds 3-1 on a Tuesday night game at Carrington.
A fixture pile-up due to winter postponements often means a rush of academy fixtures at the end of the season.
After Manchester United’s under-18s lost 3-1 to neighbours Manchester City on Saturday, the team had a chance to bounce back immediately against rivals Leeds.
The team got back to winning ways, emerging as 3-1 winners on a positive night for the academy side.
James Scanlon opens the scoring
Gibraltar youth international James Scanlon opened the scoring in just the second minute of the game.
After a strong run and perfectly weighted pass from Jack Moorhouse, Scanlon swept in to score his third goal of the season.
Scanlon, 16, only made his United under-18s debut in December. This was his 12th game since then, and the attacking midfielder is making an impact. This was his second goal in his last three starts.
Leeds then equalised to go in at half-time level. United made a key change to win the game.
Sam Mather and Manni Norkett combine
Under-18s coach Travis Binnion brought Sam Mather off the bench with 25 minutes to go.
Mather was a key part of the FA Youth Cup winning squad last season and was playing for both the under-21s and under-18s earlier in the campaign.
He led the under-18s for assists early on in the season, and still ranks second highest, even though his last appearance was in the FA Youth Cup third round win over Crystal Palace in December, in which he scored.
This was his first game of 2023 after he suffered an injury at the start of the year. Mather, 18, instantly showed why United will be glad to have him back.
His pass picked out Manni Norkett, 18, to score the goal which put the team 2-1 up. This was Norkett’s 11th goal of the season.
Norkett’s last goal had come at the end of January. He had missed a few weeks of action, recently returning as a substitute.
This was his first start since then, and he will have been glad to mark it with a goal.
Ethan Wheatley extends United’s lead
A young striker very pleased to have scored will be Ethan Wheatley. The 17-year-old came off the bench to put the score beyond doubt with a close range finish.
Wheatley scored in the first under-18s games of the season, a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest. Then his next one came against Middlesbrough in December.
Now he has his third goal of the season and his first of 2023. Wheatley didn’t feature in January or February, and only has two starts to his name this calendar year.
Now back on the scoresheet, the England youth international will hope to end the season strongly and kick on from here.
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