A weakened Manchester United Under-21 side secured a well-battled 1-1 draw with Norwich City, after a full-blooded ninety minutes at Carrow Road.
Despite Adel Gafaiti’s first half opener, with the Algerian slotting home a well-placed header courtesy of a set piece, midfield maestro Josh Harrop ensured the points were split with a phenomenal long range strike.
Having set a target of 10 goals throughout the season, Harrop added his second in six games – the other also coming against the Canaries in the opening game of the season, while the Reds could only name four substitutes with a limited squad.
Tom Thorpe remained on the sidelines due to injury, while the squad were without Ben Pearson for the first time since his short-term loan to League One side Barnsley. With the Under-18’s also preparing for Tuesday’s FA Youth Cup game, many could not be called up for action.
A makeshift back four look unsettled, with right-back Saidy Janko the only player fielded in their natural position. Donald Love took to the left-back role, with defensive midfielder Liam Grimshaw and right-back Marnick Vermijl deployed in the heart of the defence.
However, the Red Devils were boosted by the return of Jesse Lingard, making his comeback from injury, who was hastily taken down close to the box early in the first half. With no foul awarded, the referee later waived away two apparent penalty claims, with Nick Powell being challenged twice out-of-the-sight of the officials.
United came closest in the first half through Will Keane and Lingard, although their respective efforts failed to have sufficient power, or was unfortunately blocked by the Norwich keeper. Earning the first goal of the game, central defender Gafaiti was able to leap unchallenged to head home after 26 minutes, despite being marked closely by Grimshaw.
Jamar Loza – who had scored 4 goals in as many games prior to the Under-21 Premier League clash – came agonizingly close to double his side’s tally, knocking a hazardous cross from Reece Hall-Johnson inches wide.
The second bought a somewhat better performance from United, although the hosts came close again and forced the title hopefuls to press forward considerably. As a result, Harrop ensured he could display his magic, and releasing a stunning right-footed effort from long range, watched Remi Matthews struggle with to deflect the attempt away from goal, just eight minutes into the second-half.
Referee Ian Fissenden ultimately failed to take control of the game, with heated arguments and pushing evolving after Kyle McGeehan’s boisterous foul of United’ Nick Powell. With the Irish centre-back awarded a caution after a number of fouls, the 19-year-old looked to have settled down in risk of being dismissed with the visitors steadily on the attack.
Powell came close from distance after creating a wealth of space following the break in play, but Matthews was also to claw the effort away as tension raised between the two sides. A luckless injury to Andreas Pereira saw the introduction of Callum Evans and a reshuffle of the team for Warren Joyce. With Jesse Lingard also substituted shortly after, bring a premature end to his return to Under-21 action, seeing his final effort drilled wide with Will Keane waiting to pounce in the box.
In his first game since returning from his lacklustre loan spell with Leicester City, Powell stood up considerably in the second-half, notably for his work-rate and ability to create opportunities. Linking up well with Will Keane, the striker was unfortunate to see his effort fly uncharacteristically over the crossbar in injury time.
Signalling the conclusion of the league fixture, it was clear there was a lack of organisation from United across the field. While the lack of depth in the defensive line was evident, many will be disappointed with the single point – having seen of the Canaries with three goals in the opening game of the season.
As a result, Joyce’s side sit third in the Barclays Under-21 Premier League table, trailing Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City by two and three points respectively. Nevertheless, with a game in hand and a considerably better goal difference over the two teams, the Reds should look to go top when hosting Liverpool on Monday 26th January.
Manchester United: Amos; Grimshaw, Vermijl, Love; Janko, A.Pereira (C.Evans 67), Lingard (A.Fletcher 79), Powell, Harrop, Weir; Keane.
Subs Not Used: O'Hara, Willock.
Goals: Harrop 53