FA Youth Cup Final Preview: Manchester City vs Leeds United
It all comes down to Friday's clash at the Etihad.
Leeds United Under-18s have the chance to write history as they travel to the Etihad to face Manchester City Under-18s in the FA Youth Cup final.
The Whites have won the prestigious tournament twice before, in 1993 and 1997, with Rob Etherington’s young side now just 90 minutes away from getting their hands on silverware.
The memorable campaign so far started at Carrow Road, where goals from Marley Wilson and captain Dan Toulson saw United overcome a strong Norwich City side.
Leeds faced another long trip on the road in the following round but that wasn’t to phase the team, with a Max McFadden brace capping off an emphatic 4-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on the south coast.
A fiery Yorkshire derby with rivals Sheffield United was next on the journey, where an acrobatic volley from forward Wilson put the Whites into the lead, before the Blades responded to take the tie all the way to penalties.
With a quarter-final tie with Liverpool at stake, Scotland youth international Rory Mahady proved to be the hero at Bramall Lane, saving twice in the shootout to spark wild celebrations as the Whites progressed.
Despite the calibre of opposition at Elland Road, Etherington’s side put in a commanding performance in front of supporters, racing into a three-goal lead thanks to a brace from Rhys Chadwick and a well-taken header from Freddie Lane, with the Reds grabbing a consolation late on.
🍿 #LUFCU18 𝟯-𝟭 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗹
— Leeds United (@LUFC) February 29, 2024
Chadwick (34’, 70’)
Lane (53’) pic.twitter.com/CZJO3gclO7
Backed by over 10,000 fans as United welcomed a familiar foe in Millwall to LS11, the Whites had to dig deep to overcome the Lions, with Chadwick again amongst the goals to level the tie after falling behind early on.
Charlie Crew put his side into the lead ahead of the break before the visitors responded once more, but with the help of two own goals in the second half, Leeds deservedly ground the result out to book their spot in the final.
A 2-0 victory away at Watford kickstarted Manchester City's FA Youth Cup campaign, before needing extra time to overcome holders West Ham United in the capital.
Back-to-back 2-1 wins over Reading and Tottenham set up a final four clash with Bristol City, where a late strike from substitute Ashton Muir broke the Robins' resistance as the Blues progressed.
Action from the Etihad gets underway at 7pm.
What has Rob Etherington said ahead of the match?
🎙 "𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗰𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻"#LUFCU18 head coach Rob Etherington looks ahead to Friday night's FA Youth Cup Final against Man City at the Etihad pic.twitter.com/Sl5rpXquP4
— Leeds United (@LUFC) May 9, 2024
Important supporter information:
Discriminatory language or chanting is not acceptable and you could be breaking the law. The club condemns this behaviour and has a zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination abuse of all kinds.
Tough measures and sanctions are in place across all English football leagues to tackle dangerous and illegal behaviours within football grounds, and this involves but is not limited to, discriminatory behaviour, tragedy chanting, fans entering the pitch, the use of pyros and throwing objects.
Information about the Etihad including a match day guide for supporters, parking details and food and drink options can be found HERE.
A memorable night at Elland Road:
🍿 #LUFCU18 𝟰-𝟯 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗹
— Leeds United (@LUFC) April 5, 2024
Chadwick (27’)
Crew (32’)
Beaumont OG (58’)
Whiteman OG (71’) pic.twitter.com/778TWiLA0o
How to follow:
The match will be exclusively live in the UK on the FA Player, as well as the FA Cup’s YouTube, Twitter and TikTok channels. Fans can sign up to FA Player and watch the match for free HERE. International supporters are advised to check local listings.
Fans can also stay right here on leedsunited.com to follow live blog updates throughout the 90 minutes, with a full match report, reaction and highlights available after the game has finished.
