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Manchester United u21s met Huddersfield Town on Tuesday night in their final EFL Trophy group stage match.
Needing just a point to advance, Travis Binnion’s side faced a tough task. Huddersfield fielded a near-full team, while United had a depleted side to contend with after more than 10 academy players were called up for international duty.
United started brightly, with Sekou Kone shining in the middle of the pitch in the opening 15 minutes with some touches.
But Huddersfield soon took control as the upped the tempo and pinned United back into their half.
Just before the half-hour mark, United was struggling to get upfield. A ball down the left wing saw Victor Musa fail to hold up the play, allowing Huddersfield to counter quickly. Kone was caught on, out of possession, allowing Ben Wiles to pick up the ball 20 yards out and smash a wonder strike into the far top left corner.
United had begun to look shaky in possession, with Kone losing the ball in dangerous areas, which saw him pick up a yellow card before a loose touch enticed a Huddersfield player in for a heavy challenge on his shin that left Kone down and unable to continue in the 41st minute.
Just before the break, though, United levelled the score through Victor Musa. Habeeb Ogunneye started the move by winning possession before wrestling off his marker to feed Ethan Ennis on the right wing, who cheekily nutmegged the fullback before cutting back to Musa in a central area for a clever backheel finish.
Tyrell Malacia came off at half in a pre-planned substitution, with Harry Amass entering for the 25 year old, who looked good on his return from injury.
In the 58th minute, United was lucky to get away with it when the Huddersfield winger cut inside and was caught by Ogunneye’s trailing leg. While going down, the Huddersfield player handled the ball, which the ref called rather than awarding a penalty.
In the 67th minute, Huddersfield attacked down the right and delivered a whipped-in cross into the six-yard box for Rhys Healey to head home, having split between the United centre-halves.
United looked to be dead on their feet in the final stages, having put up a good fight. Still, the strong Huddersfield side ultimately proved too much to contend with and made it 3-0 in the 90th minute through David Kamasu, who hit on the counterattack, with United unable to keep up with the speed of the attack.
To make matters worse, Huddersfield added a fourth deep into injury time from a corner to give United a somewhat harsh score line.
The loss means United have exited the EFL Trophy. Their five points left them one point behind Huddersfield. United is back in action next week in the National League Cup against Altrincham.
United XI: Mee, Ogunneye (Mather 76), Kingdon, Fredricson, Malacia (Amass 46), Kone (McAllister 41), Rowe, Ennis, Fitzgerald (Moorhouse 76), Williams(Missin 65), Musa
Unused subs: Graczyk, Jackson
