Latest Manchester City news as youngsters step up against Arsenal in Premier League 2 quarter-final late on
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Divin Mubama of Manchester City
Divin Mubama scored as Manchester City beat Arsenal in the Premier League 2 play-offs.
With their season on the line, Manchester City needed someone - anyone - to be the hero. Then two stepped up.
City's season looked to be over in frustrating fashion as Arsenal spent 75 minutes executing a perfect game plan with goals early in both halves of their Premier League 2 play-off quarter-final. That was until a sensational comeback saw Lakyle Samuel tower in a 94th-minute header to force extra time when the PL2 league winners were staring at a heart-breaking end to a fine year.
With the Premier League changing the format of their under-21 league two summers ago, the team who finishes first don't immediately get to call themselves champions.
City got a trophy with 'league winners' on the ribbons for finishing first, but the champions are deemed the side who win the knockout stage - meaning the 16th-best team could earn that title in theory ahead of the side with the best record.
City were facing that existential question as Arsenal stopped them in their tracks. Coach Ben Wilkinson enjoys putting his players in pressure situations like these play-offs, win or lose, to see how the youngsters will react.
For most of the game, they didn't react well. Passes went astray, reliable names couldn't get involved, and the visitors were slowing the game down at every opportunity. However, stopping City takes an almighty effort and slowly the Arsenal legs tired. City sensed an opportunity.
Ashton Muir's finish in a crowded box gave them hope, Charlie Gray's offside strike was a step closer, and Samuel then powered in from a Michael Okeke corner to send the game to extra time. They took their time, but finally rose to that pressure.
Already the youngest side in the PL2 this season, credit must go to the three under-18 players who changed the game off the bench, even with an FA Youth Cup final less than two days away. Okeke, Stephen Mfuni and Ryan McAidoo were pivotal in the comeback, even if McAidoo was then replaced for extra time, perhaps with an eye on Monday's Youth Cup date.
Having been marked out of the game throughout, striker Divin Mubama was the second hero, volleying home emphatically in extra-time. He had been on hand to score the two winning goals in the last round but was almost a spectator for the most part this time.
Yet he was always alive, waiting for his moment, and he took it when it came. As the clock ticked down, he raced back to win a free kick and relieve pressure deep into extra time. He and City rose to the pressure exactly when it mattered most.
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