Manchester City 2-1 Manchester United: Raygan Heskey’s 87th-minute goal saw Manchester City win the FA Youth Cup for the fifth time in their history against arch-rivals United.
The FA Youth Cup is back in the hands of Manchester City (Image: Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
Manchester City were crowned champions of the FA Youth Cup with a dramatic 2-1 victory over rivals Manchester United. Raegan Heskey, son of former Premier League striker Emile, scored a stunning goal in the 87th minute to earn the trophy a blue ribbon.
City took the lead in the first half with Floyd Samba taking a free kick from 25 yards out. United hit back two minutes later with a brilliant move from Godwill Kukonki, who darted forward from centre-back.
But Darren Fletcher’s young players were left heartbroken when 18-year-old Heskey found space on the left side of the penalty area and chopped inside. The winger fired a powerful right-footed shot that ultimately sealed victory for Oliver Rees’ side.
There were many familiar faces in the stands at the 7,000-capacity Gioa Stadium, which was controversially chosen as the venue for Thursday’s final as the Etihad Stadium was out of use due to construction works. First-team managers Josep Guardiola and Michael Carrick watched a heated battle between future stars.
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United players Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount, Luke Shaw and Patrick Dawg were also in attendance. As for City, they had back-up stars such as Phil Foden, Antoine Semenyo and Nathan Ake.
United wonderland player JJ Gabriel got a lot of attention, but was only able to take on City goalkeeper Max Hudson once, before being shown a yellow card for diving inside the penalty area. City’s Teddy Lamb went for his 29th goal of the season, but a superb save prevented him from beating Cameron Byrne-Hughes in United’s goal.
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Raegan Heskey scores Manchester City’s winning goal (Image: Alex Livesey – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Guardiola congratulated City in a statement: “I would like to congratulate Oliver Rees, his staff, the players and everyone working in the academy on winning the FA Youth Cup. Our success in this competition is another example of how good this club is at creating a winning mentality and producing top young players.”
“I am very impressed with the talent that is produced here at CFA (City Football Academy) every season. You can see that when the young players train with us. I hope everyone at the academy enjoys this achievement, because it is a reward not just for this season, but for many years of hard work and dedication.”
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