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Manchester United u19s had their second group match at the Mladen Ramljak Memorial Tournament on Friday as they took on Italian side, Udinese.
After a delayed kick off due to a waterlogged pitch, play finally got under way with Finley McAllister leading out the young Reds.
Anthony Missin caused danger early on with his direct running but Gabriele Biancheri couldn’t finish from the winger’s delivery.
It was then Jayce Fitzgerald’s turn to supply Biancheri with a through ball down the right channel but again the Welsh youth international failed to trouble the keeper.
It was all United in the early stages but Udinese were still a threat as they looked to hit on the counter only to be thwarted by a crucial last ditch block from Louis Jackson.
In the 20th minute, Udinese curled in a floated free kick to the back post and bundled the ball in past Tom Myles, but the whistle was quick to rule it out for offside.
United immediately responded with Missin slipping Biancheri down the right side to centre to James Scanlon wide open from eight yards out, but somehow the Gibraltar youth international scooped the ball over the bar from close range.
In the 24th minute, Ethan Williams hit a powerful swerving shot that was palmed over the bar by the Udinese keeper. From the resulting corner, Williams delivered deep to Reece Munro for a looping header over the keeper and into the back of the net to give United the lead.
Despite a number of further chances, the score remained 0-1 to United going into the break.
After a dominating the first half and creating plenty of chances at goal, the pace of the second was hampered by a series of fouls in midfield.
It wasn’t until late in the match that Missin delivered a great ball into Scanlon, who couldn’t keep his header on target from eight yards out.
United were made to rue their missed chances as Udinese equalised in the final minute of play. After the ball was played into Udinese’s number nine in the box, Jaydan Kamason blocked the first attempt, but the ball bounced up kindly for the striker to hit on the volley past Myles to grab a late result.
With no time remaining, the final whistle blew with the score 1-1, leaving United on four points from the opening two fixtures and playing the hosts Dinamo Zagreb in their last group match on Saturday.
A bad result was compounded by the fact Shea Lacey was present on the bench with crutches, nursing an injury that is unknown as of yet.
United: Myles, McAllister, Munro, Jackson, Ogunneye (Kamason 20), Fitzgerald (Moorhouse 50), Baumann (Devaney 66), Missin, Scanlon, Williams (Musa 55), Biancheri
