Jaume Camacho shakes hands with Kai Rooney after his second goal v Liverpool
Jaume Camacho shakes hands with Kai Rooney after his second goal v Liverpool
Jaume Camacho’s double and a Noah Ajayi finish had the young Reds 3-0 up at the break after a commanding first-half display.
Liverpool improved in the second period as goals from captain Finn Inglethorpe and Erik Farkas reduced the arrears.
Camacho completed his hat-trick and substitute Emmanuel Ziro fired home to put United 5-2 ahead.
Luca Eden’s unstoppable shot pulled another one back for the Merseysiders, before Camacho had the final say less than a minute later with a composed finish in stoppage time.
After drawing our two previous games at Chelsea and Nottingham Forest, Darren Fletcher’s side consolidate third place in the U18 Premier League North with a fourth successive home win in all competitions and extend our unbeaten run to eight games.
Read our full account of a breathtaking match below…
FIRST HALF - THREE GOALS PUT UNITED FIRMLY IN CONTROL
After an unconventional kick-off where Liverpool kicked the ball immediately out of play in our half, United made an authoritative start with plenty of possession to settle into the game.
Nathaniel-Junior Brown had the first sighting of goal when he brought down Connor Laurie’s raking pass, cut inside of Cameron Williams and brought a save from the feet of Matty Wright.
Just moments later, Camacho got the better of the Liverpool goalkeeper as the Spaniard unleashed a right-footed dipping shot into the bottom corner from around 25 yards, giving United the perfect start in the sixth minute.
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Jaume Camacho celebrates Under-18s goal v Liverpool with team-mates
Jaume Camacho celebrates Under-18s goal v Liverpool with team-mates
As the driving rain began to fall at Carrington, United kept up the pressure on the visitors as Wright again denied Brown, directly from a corner with a strong hand on this occasion.
The impressive Camacho went close again with a similar right-footed shot to his goal - this time his effort was unfortunate to strike the crossbar.
With Liverpool firmly on the back foot, Ajayi saw his effort inside the box deflect narrowly wide for a corner, following good work by Brown down the right flank.
The visitors rarely posed an attacking threat but United goalkeeper Charlie Hardy had to be alert at his near post to thwart Charlie Huth, while Haydn Murray-Holme curled a free-kick wide.
It was United who deservedly doubled our advantage in the 34th minute. Snapshots from Kai Rooney and David Eze were initially blocked and, after Liverpool failed to clear their lines, Ajayi kept his composure to sidestep away from two defenders before rolling a low shot through the legs of Wright.
Captain Jay McEvoy hooked an effort narrowly off target at the near post from Brown’s cross. However, we didn’t have to wait long to push further clear of the Merseysiders.
Rooney, on the day of his father Wayne’s 41st birthday, stole the ball from Murray-Holme and charged forward before calmly squaring for Camacho to stroke home his second of the game and put us well in command at the break.
Jariyah Shah walks out onto the pitch before United U18s v Liverpool
Jariyah Shah walks out onto the pitch before United U18s v Liverpool
Jaume Camacho celebrates scoring his first goal v Liverpool U18s
Jaume Camacho celebrates scoring his first goal v Liverpool U18s
Jaume Camacho celebrates with his team-mates after 1st goal v Liverpool U18s
Jaume Camacho celebrates with his team-mates after 1st goal v Liverpool U18s
Nathaniel-Junior Brown takes on Liverpool's Cameron Williams
Nathaniel-Junior Brown takes on Liverpool's Cameron Williams
Noah Ajayi battles for possession against Liverpool U18s
Noah Ajayi battles for possession against Liverpool U18s
Charlie Hardy on the ball for United U18s v Liverpool
Charlie Hardy on the ball for United U18s v Liverpool
Kai Rooney looks on during United U18s match v Liverpool
Kai Rooney looks on during United U18s match v Liverpool
Noah Ajayi scores for United Under-18s v Liverpool
Noah Ajayi scores for United Under-18s v Liverpool
Noah Ajayi celebrates his goal for United U18s v Liverpool
Noah Ajayi celebrates his goal for United U18s v Liverpool
David Eze in action for United Under-18s v Liverpool
David Eze in action for United Under-18s v Liverpool
David Eze and Noah Ajayi battle for the ball against Liverpool U18s
David Eze and Noah Ajayi battle for the ball against Liverpool U18s
SECOND HALF - CAMACHO SCORES FOUR AS UNITED SEAL BIG WIN
The visitors had the ball in the net a minute after the restart when Eden tapped home but he was flagged offside.
Liverpool did, however, pull a goal back in the 55th minute as AJ Yeguo’s shot after a mazy run was blocked, before Eden’s effort deflected into the path of Inglethorpe to sweep in from close range.
United immediately looked to respond as Brown took aim with a left-footed shot which flew off target and then found Williams in the way of another effort. After a largely scrappy start to the second half punctuated by fouls, the action became end-to-end with both sides looking to attack with purpose.
Fletcher made a double change to freshen things up as Rooney and Ajayi made way for Karim Cassim and Edson DeJonge-Seiros.
United continued to cause problems for the visitors’ defence as Brown drove forward and rifled his shot wide from the edge of the area, before he was replaced by Ziro. McEvoy bent a free-kick inches wide of Wright’s right-hand post from 20 yards after Inglethorpe was booked for bringing down DeJonge-Seiros.
The visitors appealed for a penalty when Murray-Holme went down under a challenge from Sam O’Brien but referee Daniel Sims ignored the claims.
Liverpool were much more competitive in the second period and reduced the arrears further in the 73rd minute when Hardy appeared to slip and gave the ball away to Farkas, who bundled a shot into the net despite Jayden Ngwashi’s attempts to clear on the goalline.
However, United increased our lead three minutes later as DeJonge-Seiros fed Camacho, who struck a left-footed shot on the turn into the far corner beyond the despairing hand of Wright to complete his hat-trick.
After the visitors appealed again in vain for a spotkick at one end, the Reds quickly went down the other end and Camacho was denied by Wright from a tight angle this time.
Wright had to make another save to turn Eze’s shot behind for a corner with his feet after Camacho’s effort was blocked by Lucas Clarke.
It got better for the Reds eight minutes from time as Cassim picked out fellow sub Ziro, who drove at the Liverpool defence and fired the ball home at the near post to restore our three-goal cushion.
Eden rifled home an unstoppable finish from distance in the first minute of stoppage time to cut the deficit but, less than a minute later, Camacho calmly slotted home his fourth goal after positive work at the byline from Cassim, as we netted six goals for the second successive home match.
The visitors certainly contributed to an entertaining contest, but United - who thumped Liverpool 7-0 away and 4-1 at home in the league last term - survived a scare to run out comfortable winners in the end.
The young Reds are in action again on Tuesday afternoon when we make the short trip to Lancashire to face Burnley. Kick-off is at 13:00 GMT and you can watch the game live on MUTV.
MATCH DETAILS
UNITED
Line-up: Hardy; Shah (J. Watson 81), Ngwashi, Laurie, O’Brien; McEvoy (c), Eze (Carrick 81); Brown (Ziro 69), Camacho, Ajayi (DeJonge-Seiros 63); Rooney (Cassim 63).
Subs not used: Ford, McLaughlin.
Goals: Camacho 6, 37, 76, 90+2, Ajayi 34, Ziro 83.
Booked: Rooney 38, Cassim 80.
LIVERPOOL
Line-up: Wright; Owen (Ekiugbo 73), Conde, Clarke, Williams (Wain 64); Murray-Holme, Eden; Huth, Farkas, Yeguo; Inglethorpe (c).
Subs not used: Dooley, I. Garan, J. Garan, Hickman, Majekodunmi.
Goals: Inglethorpe 55, Farkas 73, Eden 90+1.
Booked: Eden 56, Inglethorpe 68.
A United fan walking towards Old Trafford
A United fan walking towards Old Trafford
New stadium survey article asset
New stadium survey article asset