Academy Briefing: U8s meet United stars
Members of Manchester United’s pre-Academy enjoyed a special weekend as they walked out with the club’s Under-21s side as mascots on Friday evening, before mingling with the senior squad after a sparkling Old Trafford victory on Sunday afternoon.
It began on Friday as the youngsters greeted United’s U21s in the tunnel at Leigh Sports Village to walk out with them ahead of the Premier League 2 fixture against West Ham. Six of the U21s squad themselves are graduates of the pre-Academy, including captain Louis Jackson.
“It’s brilliant,” said U21s lead coach Travis Binnion.
“It shows what the club’s about. Our lads really enjoyed walking out with them. You could see they were buzzing. It’s nice to see the youngest players with our oldest players, that’s what we’re all about.”
Later in the weekend, the U8s were greeted at Old Trafford by a group of first-team players, including club captain Bruno Fernandes and Academy graduate no. 185 Jonny Evans.
UNDER-21s DEFEAT WEST HAM
With their pre-Academy mascots watching on, Binnion’s U21 side fought hard for a late victory over West Ham. In a tight and even game, it was only Ethan Ennis’s injury-time free-kick that could separate the sides. You can watch mobile highlights from the Friday night action below.
ROCHDALE GAME LIVE ON MUTV
Binnion’s young Reds take on Rochdale on Tuesday night in our third National League Cup fixture. With seven goals and two wins in games so far against Forest Green Rovers and Altrincham, United are looking to assert ourselves in the group, knowing the top two teams from each eight-team division will progress into the knockouts.
“We’re looking forward to it, at their stadium, I think we’ll get a good crowd in,” said Binnion.
“They play really good football, they’ll cause us problems no doubt, but, as with every game, we’ll have a plan, we think we can hurt them and we’re really looking forward to it.”
ACADEMY MOVEMBER EFFORTS
The start of December brings the end to Academy staff’s Movember efforts over the last month. Travis Binnion, assistant Dave Hughes and player-coach Tommy Rowe all grew a moustache to raise awareness of men’s mental health and raise funds to support mental health services and suicide prevention, as well as those with prostate cancer and testicular cancer.
You can donate to the staff’s fundraising efforts here.
UNDER-18s WIN AT STOKE
Our U18s retained a 100 per cent winning record in this season’s U18 Premier League with a 3-0 win against Stoke City. Chido Obi, James Scanlon and Dante Plunkett were the scorers. You can watch the highlights below.
Adam Lawrence’s side now have a record of 10 wins from as many games, having scored a remarkable 46 goals and conceded only four.
U18s highlights: Stoke v United
Watch the best bits from our young Reds' latest outing in the U18 Premier League...
UEFA YOUTH LEAGUE TURNAROUND REQUIRED
Earlier in the week, Lawrence’s team were beaten 2-1 in a tight contest at AZ Alkmaar in the UEFA Youth League third round.
The two sides meet again in the second leg on Tuesday 10 December. Come to Old Trafford and show your support to help them turn the tie around! Tickets are available for £3 (adults) and £1.50 (kids) and players and staff will greatly appreciate all those who can attend.
FA YOUTH CUP
United’s upcoming FA Youth Cup game against Coventry City will be played on Wednesday 18 December at Leigh Sports Village. Tickets will be available from the LSV website, while broadcast information will be communicated as soon as possible.
The tie kicks off at 19:00 GMT with extra-time and penalties, if required.