Manchester United’s loan army got a recent addition to it in January as Ethan Ennis departed the comforts of Old Trafford to carve out a career for himself in senior football.
Ethan Ennis joined Doncaster Rovers on loan until the end of the season and right away, his first assignment was an extremely uphill one.
Doncaster Rovers, in League Two, faced Championship side Hull City away from home in the third round of the FA Cup.
On the same day as Manchester United defied the odds to knock out Arsenal on penalties after going down to ten men, Ennis’ side scripted a massive upset too, knocking out their more prestigious opponents on penalties.
Here’s how Ethan Ennis fared on his first-ever start in professional football.
Ethan Ennis’ Doncaster Rovers debut
Having joined the club just days prior to this fixture and having no prior experience playing for a senior team, it was always unlikely that Ennis would start right away despite his manager rating him highly.
That proved to be the case too, as Ennis started on the bench and only came on after 84 minutes. Rovers were leading after a 51st minute strike but Hull pegged them back four minutes after Ennis came on.
That meant he ended up playing more than he would have envisioned, as the tie went into extra time. Ennis ended up playing 36 minutes.
Ennis has generally played out wide for United youth teams but he was thrown in at the deep end in a tough game here as he came on to play as a midfielder.
He impressively performed a rearguard action as Hull enjoyed most of the ball but Rovers kept them at bay, taking the game to penalties, where they eventually won.
Ennis didn’t take a penalty, with the senior players there taking the kicks but the Man Utd loanee got to experience a memorable FA Cup moment on his very first senior start in professional football.
Ennis sends message after memorable upset
Ennis went on Instagram after the game and summed up the “fantastic feeling” of going through to the next round of the FA Cup.
Rovers got another David vs Goliath tie in the fourth round, hosting Crystal Palace in a game that Man Utd scouts would undoubtedly keep a close eye on for Ennis.
The likes of Harry Amass, Jack Fletcher, Gabriele Biancheri, and Joe Hugill responded to Ennis on Instagram with Amass replying with a heart emoji and Hugill said, “Love it u”.
Ethan Wheatley said, “Yess Ennis,” and Amir Ibragimov replied with a fire and a heart emoji.
Ennis will next be in action against Gillingham on January 18 as Rovers seek to continue their push into playoff positions in League Two.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
