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Manchester United Under-18s hosted Nottingham Forest Under-18s at Carrington on Saturday morning.

Coming into the match in hot form, Darren Fletcher’s side had qualified for the Premier League Cup final during the week with a win over West Ham United Under-18s.

First half

United took control of the match from the outset with early half-chances for JJ Gabriel and Junior Brown. Gabriel almost opened the scoring in the 20th minute when his shot looked destined for the bottom right corner, but it was tipped around the post by Ally Graham at full stretch.

Five minutes later, Jay McEvoy picked the pocket of Frank Djamna high up the pitch before finishing past Graham from 18 yards out. It was the first league goal of the season for the Ireland youth international.

Once the floodgates were open, the goals started to flow for United. Gabriel made it 2-0 after driving past two defenders and seeing his deflected shot dip just below the crossbar at the final moment.

Gabriel did not need a deflection moments later, though, as his effort soared into the top corner for his second of the match. The 15-year-old twisted and turned away from...