Academy Weekly: Wood and Cochrane pleased with recent tests

Tuesday 19 October 2021 16:30

Manchester United Under-23s enjoyed a "pleasing afternoon" at the weekend, said manager Neil Wood, as they beat Blackburn Rovers in Premier League 2.

The Reds were in action twice over the week, with the Under-21s playing a third and final game of the Papa John's Trophy group stages.

Several more exciting pieces of Academy news came out this week, with Denis Irwin in attendance at an important diversity workshop and a new work experience scheme being launched.

Coming up this week are three exciting fixtures, the most notable of which is another chance for the Under-19s to test themselves against overseas opposition in the UEFA Youth League.

The name of the game

The Academy has been keen to stress that the plan is for the Under-18s to be stretched this term, hence the very young squads being named for the games. Consequently, the results will not necessarily reflect on the individual quality of the players within the team, given the majority of them are playing above their age group.

Head of Academy Nick Cox explained: “It’s a fine balance because we want our boys to be competitive and they have got to know how to win, otherwise they won’t thrive in our industry, let alone the first team. But if the sole purpose is results, we’re not going to do our jobs properly. It would have been dead easy to hold boys back and win games but it wouldn’t be doing them any favours as they wouldn’t be developing. We are going to have a young Under-23s and a young youth team and it’s the right thing to do. Nobody enjoys losing but it happens and it’s okay. We don’t shy away from defeat and we are going to have really young teams. We have to hold our nerve a little bit because it is absolutely the right thing to do.”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Diversity workshop

The Academy hosted a diversity workshop with our Under-15s and Under-16s last week, celebrating the heritage of the club's players throughout its history. Denis Irwin was in attendance as the group worked together to create a heritage XI consisting of former Reds from 11 different countries. This built on last season's education initiative which commemorated the life and career of United's first black player, Dennis Walker.

 

A pleasing performance

"I think it was a pleasing performance," Neil Wood said of the Under-23s' 3-0 win against Blackburn Rovers.

"We had a tough game in midweek, but I thought we carried on our form in the league against Liverpool from last week."

"I thought we were really good against Liverpool and in periods today I thought we were really good with the ball and caused them some problems. We had a quite few opportunities where we could have scored more goals than we did. So it was a pleasing afternoon with some great little details for some of the individuals to work on within the game and we'll take that into the next couple of days of training."

Shola Shoretire put United ahead after six minutes and two further goals followed in the second half, first an own goal by Rovers' Louis Annesley and then Anthony Elanga finding the back of the net late in added time.

You can watch highlights of the victory below.

U23s highlights: United 3 Blackburn 0 Video

U23s highlights: United 3 Blackburn 0

Watch highlights, including Anthony Elanga's stunner in injury time, from our Premier League 2 victory...

Pro Experience Programme

Launched this month is an innovative new programme which sees Academy players spend time training with EFL clubs. Distinct from a formal loan move, several players in the U17-U23 group will have the opportunity to experience a senior football environment in the Football League. The first two players have already benefitted from the programme, training with Darren Moore's Sheffield Wednesday squad. Upon their return, they presented their experiences to coaches in order to cement the learning process. Read more about the programme, including Nick Cox's thoughts on it, here.

"They played the Manchester United style"

The Under-21s played at the Stadium of Light last Wednesday, beaten 2-1 by Sunderland in the Papa John's Trophy group stages.

Earlier in the tournament, United had beaten Bradford City by three goals and suffered a narrow defeat to Lincoln City.

Zidane Iqbal scored United's only goal, sandwiched in between strikes from Sunderland's Dyce and Wearne.

The competition is a great experience for United's youngsters, as Justin Cochrane, Head of Player Development and Coaching, pointed out.

"The positives are that we showed we can play at this stage, that the youngsters wanted the ball and created opportunities," Cochrane told club media.

"At times, when you think 'oh, this could be a bit of a problem', they kept going. We got lots of good young players now, who I look at and think this is something you can add, or tick, on the development, playing at the stadium of an ex-Premier League club. It showed you've got potential to go further.

"The key message is: 'Can you be more consistent in the way you play? Can you be more ruthless with your chances?' Because, ultimately, matches are decided by what happens in both boxes.

U21s highlights: Sunderland 2 United 1 Video

U21s highlights: Sunderland 2 United 1

Check out all the goals and key moments from our Papa John's Trophy game at the Stadium of Light...

"I haven't seen the second goal yet but I think we could have done better defensively. We could go forward, we had opportunities in their area. On another day, our two forwards might have a brace each.

"So that's the key message, we keep going, there were positive performances from the young players. They played the Manchester United style, we played in and around them, there were good creative bits, particularly in the second half, so lots of positives."

Di'Shon Bernard, shown here signing a new contract in summer, turned 21 this week.

COMING UP THIS WEEK

UEFA Youth League action

With one win and one defeat in the UEFA Youth League thus far for United, the Reds sit third in Group F, behind Atalanta only on goal difference.

The two sides face on Wednesday afternoon, the game preceding the equivalent first team fixture by about seven hours.

Fans can watch United in action at Leigh Sports Village, with kick-off at 13:00 BST. Those who can't attend will be able to watch highlights on our Official App and ManUtd.com or watch the game live on BT Sport (UK only).

League action

The Under-23s take on West Ham United on Saturday, with a 15:00 BST kick-off, while the Under-18s play Wolves earlier in the day at 11:30 BST.

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