4
Manchester United u21s travelled to Blackburn Rovers on Friday night in Premier League 2 action as they looked to build on their convincing victory over Stoke City last week.
With three goals already this season, Jack Fletcher shone from the off and came close to scoring straight from a corner in the opening minutes which was inadvertently blocked off the line by Malachi Sharpe.
Fletcher then forced a fingertip save from Joe Hilton to push the ball wide from his 20 yard strike.
United took the lead in the 11th minute with some old fashioned direct football. A long ball down the right channel from Tyler Fredricson was kept alive by Sharpe, who looped a cross into the box as he was falling off the pitch for Ethan Ennis to run onto and head home.
Another dangerous corner delivery from Fletcher found the head of Fredricson who directed it just over the bar.
The first half was pretty much one way traffic, with Fletcher and Sam Mather linking excellently on the left hand side of the pitch. The duo connected on one occasion when Mather provided a cheeky backheel for Fletcher at the edge of the box to force another save from Hilton.
Mather then played provider to Sharpe who found himself in acres of space on the right side of the box but he couldn’t beat the keeper who pushed the ball off the post and a fortunate bounce saw the ball bounce back into Hilton’s arms.
Despite the level of dominance, United couldn’t find a second and the match remained 0-1 going into the break.
Into the second half, the match flipped on its head with United looking sluggish out of the gates. A sloppy pass from Finley McAllister gave the ball to Blackburn centre back Matthew Litherland, who charged 50 yards straight through United before centring to Igor Tyjon. He took the ball expertly on the turn to open up space and finish past Dermot Mee in the 52nd minute.
Three minutes later, Blackburn raced through the United midfield with ease again before Mee stood tall to make a big save.
United began to work their way back into the match around the hour mark when McAllister fed the ball to Ruben Curley at the edge of the box. He turned and took a shot that was pushed wide for a corner. On the resulting corner, Mather’s delivery was flicked on by Tommy Rowe, blocked on the line and cleared before Sharpe could apply the finish.
In the 77th minute, an excellent pass out from the back by Mee started the attack, with Habeeb Ogunneye shrugging off a challenge down the right wing before centring to Fletcher. He then fed the ball to Mather on the left wing to finish low past the keeper at the near post.
United then put the match to bed when Gabriele Biancheri scored with his first touch of the match from the bench for his fourth goal of the week. Ennis’ wonderful first touch on the left wing created the move before Fletcher grabbed his second assist of the match with a pass across the face of goal for Biancheri to tap in.
The victory leaves United sitting in 5th place in the table as they go into the international break. Their next match does not come until September 21st, when they will host rivals Manchester City.
United: Mee, Ogunneye (Kamason 90+3), Kingdon (Jackson 90+3), Fredricson, Rowe, McAllister (Devaney 72), Curley, Sharpe, J. Fletcher, Mather (Biancheri 82), Ennis
Unused subs: Graczyk
