Milk Cup 2009: Reds reign again in the Coleraine rain

There was a distinct sense of deja vu in the air this evening as Paul McGuinness’ side took to the field for the Milk Cup final in exactly the same sort of atrocious Coleraine weather they experienced as they won the competition last season, and while there wasn’t quite the same dominant, swashbuckling performance that we witnessed 12 months ago, goals from Michael Ngoo and Etzaz Hussain ensured there was ultimately the same result – a Manchester United victory and more silverware for the Old Trafford trophy cabinet.

Milk Cup 2009: Brady fires Reds into the final

United will go head-to-head with Sheffield United in tomorrow’s Northern Ireland Milk Cup final after overcoming Fenerbahce 2-1 in a tense and incident-packed last four clash at the Ballymena Showgrounds. The Turkish side had the better of the opening exchanges and took the lead through Semih, but the game swung in a dramatic two minute spell at the end of the first half that saw Joshua King equalise for the Reds and Fener defender Okan sent off for handball on the line. Skipper Robbie Brady missed the resulting penalty, but went from villain to hero in the second half as he grabbed the crucial winning goal seven minutes from time to send United into their third successive final.

Milk Cup 2009: Reds hold their nerve to dispatch Desportivo on penalties

It was nailbiting stuff on the north coast this evening as United’s Milk Cup hopes were kept alive with a dramatic 6-5 penalty shootout victory over Desportivo Brasil at the Limavady Showgrounds. After a hard-fought seventy minutes that saw the deadlock remain unbroken, centre-half Sean McGinty struck the winning spot-kick to send the Reds into the semi-finals.

Luton 1 United 2: Reserves’ impressive pre-season form continues

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July 28th 2009, 7.45pm
Kenilworth Road, Luton

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Luton Town	1-2	Manchester United XI

Hall 15	-	Brandy 1
-	-	Cleverley 9 (pen)

 
A very decent crowd of 7,480 turned out to see Luton Town’s first team entertain Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United reserves at Kenilworth Road this evening, the Reds looking to continue an impressive start to pre-season that has seen them records wins over AFC Fylde and Rochdale and a draw with Norwich City so far. A terrific start from a depleted United XI rocked Mick Harford’s Hatters, with Febian Brandy and Tom Cleverley finding the net inside the first ten minutes to establish an early 2-0 lead, but Town centre-half Asa Hall hauled his side back into the game after quarter of an hour. A much more even contest followed and Luton’s extra experience and strength posed plenty of problems, but the United youngsters ultimately held on to pick up another creditable victory.

Milk Cup 2009: Reds crush Cantolao to move into quarters

Skipper Robbie Brady bagged another brace as United put Peruvian side Cantolao to the sword in a terrific display of free-flowing attacking football in Coleraine this evening, taking his tally for the tournament to four in two games. Will Keane and Ryan Tunnicliffe were also on the mark as the Reds rained shots on the Cantolao goal, with only a great display from ‘keeper Patricio Musso Savage keeping the scoreline respectable.

Milk Cup 2009: Winning start comes at a cost

Robbie Brady’s first-half double and a fantastic late strike from Will Keane saw United get their Milk Cup defence up and running with a 3-0 win over County Antrim this evening, but boss Paul McGuinness was left counting the cost of a niggly and bruising encounter that could see him deprived of two of his key players for tomorrow’s clash with Club Cantolao of Peru.

Northern Ireland Milk Cup 2009: A Preview

Tomorrow marks the start of the 2009 edition of the Northern Ireland Milk Cup, with United’s U17s bidding to defend the Premier section trophy they won so impressively last season and a trio of Reds representing Northern Ireland as they bid for glory in the Elite section. Read on for all the details about the forthcoming five days of action…

Norwich 1 United 1: de Laet show earns depleted Reds a deserved draw

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July 25th 2009, 3pm
Carrow Road, Norwich

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Norwich City	1-1	Manchester United XI

Adeyemi 21	-	de Laet 85
-	-	Hewson missed pen 35

 
A Ritchie de Laet equaliser five minutes from time handed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side a deserved share of the spoils at Carrow Road this afternoon, as a somewhat makeshift United XI bounced back from an early Norwich goal and a first-half penalty miss to outplay their League One opposition in the second forty-five minutes.

Canaries midfielder Tom Adeyemi gave the home side just reward for an impressive first twenty minutes with a great strike from outside the area, and debutant goalkeeper Ben Alnwick – a loan signing from Tottenham – gave Bryan Gunn’s team another boost when he plunged to his left to turn away Sam Hewson’s spot-kick ten minutes before the break. The Reds adjusted better to the inevitable second-half changes however, and went close on a number of occasions before the unlikely figure of de Laet got in behind the City backline to slot home a late leveller.

Rochdale 0 United 2: Impressive Reds earn notable pre-season scalp

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July 20th 2009, 7.30pm
Spotland Stadium, Rochdale

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Rochdale AFC	0-2	Manchester United XI

-	-	Brandy 11
-	-	C Evans 39

 

AFC Fylde 1 United 2: Reserves get pre-season underway with a win

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July 17th 2009, 7.45pm
Kellamergh Park, Warton

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AFC Fylde	1-2	Manchester United XI

Clark 83	-	Cleverley 39
-	-	Hewson 75

 
A rain-lashed Kellamergh Park was the setting this evening as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reserve side made their 2009/2010 bow against Unibond League Division One side AFC Fylde, United eventually overcoming both the conditions and committed opposition to get their campaign underway with a 2-1 win. Goals from midfielders Tom Cleverley and Sam Hewson either side of half-time were enough to hand the Reds a victory that their dominant performance deserved, although the home side sent the majority of the record crowd home happy after grabbing a late consolation through Michael Clark.