Manchester United's youngsters have continued the club's proud tradition in the FA Youth Cup by beating Sheffield United to win the competition for a record-extending tenth time. Having drawn the first leg of the final 2-2 at Bramall Lane, United won 4-1 on Monday night to seal a 6-3 aggregate victory and ensure the Old Trafford faithful could witness a second piece of silverware being lifted in as many days.
Ravel Morrison and Will Keane each scored a brace to see off Sheffield United, who reached the end of the road after an outstanding campaign. Sir Alex Ferguson was in the stands to witness the triumph and must now decide the next career move of a group who look destined for much bigger things. It might have been a season of unremitting gloom for the Blades at first-team level - Micky Adams' side were relegated to League One - but their youth team squad have been exceptional. The key for the South Yorkshire outfit will be keeping hold of them, which in the case of Jordan Slew in particular may prove to be difficult.
Slew has already made eight first-team appearances and has a couple of England Under-19 caps to his name, a number that seems certain to rise. The Sheffield-born youngster went close on a couple of occasions before the break, including a dipping, curling shot that had Sam Johnstone scrambling across his goal to watch it to safety. But United were just too strong for the Blades and, of the current crop, the likes of French import Paul Pogba, Ryan Tunnicliffe, Morrison and Keane have all benn tipped for great things. After Keane screwed twin brother Michael's cross into his path, Morrison required one touch to control before burying a clinical shot into the bottom corner. Pegged back twice in last week's first leg, United were in no mood to release their grip on Monday.
And after Terry Kennedy had handled a Will Keane header, the rangy striker strode up to send George Long the wrong way. In a second half that saw the unfortunate departure of the Blades' Harry Maguire on a stretcher, Morrison was first to double his tally. This time, it was sublime in a more orthodox manner as he strode to the edge of the area, crabbed his way across the box, then cut a fantastic shot low into the far corner. Joe Ironside pulled one back but Keane responded with another to round off the scoring.
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