Manchester United’s dreams of clinching a record 11th FA Youth Cup came to a crashing end at White Hart Lane on Monday evening, falling to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur.
The hosts took the lead early on through Anthony Georgiou, with his 20th minute close-range effort beating Dean Henderson, before Marcus Rashford replied just five minutes later. Hitting a stunning free-kick past the Tottenham goalkeeper, the Reds looked uncomfortable in possession and struggled to gain a foothold in the cup tie.
Ismail Azzaoui soon restored the lead for Tottenham following the restart, finishing off a rapid counter-attack before Georgiou added his second of the night to seal his side’s qualification for the next round as Paul McGuinness’ side exited the tournament in the fifth round.
Manager McGuinness named an unchanged side from the eleven who earned a 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers, and was expecting a tough challenge from the beginning. However, the visitors should have conceded less than a quarter of an hour into the fixture, as Christian Maghoma headed woefully wide from Azzaoui’s lofted ball. Nevertheless, with the hosts securing the opener just six minutes later – again from a free-kick – Georgiou smashed the ball at the far post sending United into an immediate search for the equaliser.
Compensated in spectacular fashion, Rashford stepped up to a 30-yard free-kick, and fired the effort beyond Harry Voss between the sticks for Spurs. As the Reds began to gain considerable confidence, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson was painfully close to taking the lead for the first time, finding space before before the break before seeing his low cross cleared well as Rashford slid in at the far post.
Youngster Callum Gribbin also saw a chance graze the post, cutting in from the right before curling his effort scarcely wide as Voss scurried to make a save. Starting the second half with an attacking flow, the visitors looked to be rewarded as Borthwick-Jackson beat the keeper, only for the linesman’s flag to rule out the goal for offside.
Just 51 seconds later, the hosts broke swiftly with a scare turning into joy, as Azzaoui collected the ball with a wealth of time and space before coolly finishing past Dean Henderson. An outstanding manoeuvre from defender Tyler Reid almost handed McGuinness’ men a second equaliser, with the right-back only finding the gloves of Voss after running the length of the pitch.
Pushing forward desperately in search of the equaliser, United were then caught out at the back with Tottenham securing the win. As Georgiou beat Henderson once more with 19 minutes remaining, he wheeled away in jubilation as his side’s place in the sixth round of the cup was secured.
Devonte Redmond produced the Reds best chance to claw back a consolation goal, but with the clock ticking down, his multiple attempts could cause little threat to a resilient defensive line for the hosts.
Tottenham Hotspur will now visit Nottingham Forest in the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup.
Manchester United: Henderson; Reid, Tuanzebe, Williams, Borthwick-Jackson; Riley, Fosu-Mensah, Redmond, Gribbin, Dearnley (Mitchell 71'); Rashford.
Subs not used: Dorrington, Thompson, Croskery, Scott.