Rooney almost netted his second when, picked out by Brown again, he found space in the penalty area but his right-footed shot struck the post.
A quick break by Rooney almost resulted in a fourth as Brown was denied by keeper Taylor before substitute Jariyah Shah’s follow-up came back off the crossbar.
Blackburn had a final chance when Sergeant lifted a shot over the crossbar from Lister’s dinked pass as the Reds earned what was a comfortable victory in the end.
Our Under-18s are next in action on Saturday 11 April when we travel across the Pennines to face rivals Leeds United. Kick-off will be at 12:00 BST and you can watch the match live on MUTV.
MATCH DETAILS
United: Heath; Helafu, Mills, Kukonki (c), J.Watson (McEvoy 63); McCormack; Brown, Thwaites, Gabriel (Shah 70), Ajayi (D.Nkoto 70); Bradbury (Rooney 63).
Subs not used: Byrne-Hughes.
Goals: Gabriel 54 pen, Rooney 65, Thwaites 71.
Booked: McEvoy, Rooney (United); Kelley-Quinn, Sergeant, Walls (Blackburn).