Think it's a mix of yesterday and today's games, with the pictures of our lads from the game with Flamengo (just going off the lineup).
In previous years they've had tons of pictures uploaded very quickly, disappointing so far this year.
Fifa youth cup/blue stars 2009
- Thread starter oskarutd
- Start date
Think it's a mix of yesterday and today's games, with the pictures of our lads from the game with Flamengo (just going off the lineup).
In previous years they've had tons of pictures uploaded very quickly, disappointing so far this year.
I don't, the mini match report doesn't specify unfortunately. Will probably have to wait for the highlights next weekend unless more pictures turn up.
OK guys...here are all the details from the FIFA Youth Cup.
As an overview we had one of the youngest squads at the Tournament with Ra'vel Morrison being the youngest player in all ten teams by a considerable margin.
Teams such as Basle, FC Zurich, Grasshoppers all had stronger, older and more experienced squads....many of which have a bit of first team experience.
The weather was very warm, sunny and often humid and the grass on all three pitches was quite dry and long. These conditions certainly didn't help our passing game.
The team was managed by Ole Solskjaer and Warren Joyce as opposed to Paul McGuinness who also attended.
Game 1 v FC Blue Stars 2-0 (Brandy pen '23, King '38)
A pretty comfortable victory with all the players finding their feet. We wre in control the whole game but could not convert our superiority into goals in the first half.
Early in the second period, Drinkwater played a lovely through ball to Brandy who was brought down in the area. Brandy duly converted the penalty to give United the lead. Just after the half hour mark Solskjaer made two substitutions and on '37 minutes, Norwood played a lovely through ball to King who rounded the keeper....seemed to lose his balance and opportunity and then drilled a low shot to the keepers near post to put United 2-0 up. Ben Amos made two great saves at the end before Ollie Norwood hit a free kick into the wall on the final whistle.
United lined up in a 442 formation.....Moffatt and Dudgeon the fullbacks...Drinkwater on the right of midfield and Brady on the left with Stewart and Brandy up front.
1. Amos
3. Dudgeon
4. Evans (c)
6. James
7. Stewart
8. Drinkwater
9. Brandy
11. Brady
12. Moffatt
14. Norwood
18. Wootton
2. Eckersley
5. Brown
10. Possebon
13. Devlin
15. King (11) on '31
16. Ajose (7) 0n '32
17. Morrison
Man of the Match was Oliver Norwood
As an overview we had one of the youngest squads at the Tournament with Ra'vel Morrison being the youngest player in all ten teams by a considerable margin.
Teams such as Basle, FC Zurich, Grasshoppers all had stronger, older and more experienced squads....many of which have a bit of first team experience.
The weather was very warm, sunny and often humid and the grass on all three pitches was quite dry and long. These conditions certainly didn't help our passing game.
The team was managed by Ole Solskjaer and Warren Joyce as opposed to Paul McGuinness who also attended.
Game 1 v FC Blue Stars 2-0 (Brandy pen '23, King '38)
A pretty comfortable victory with all the players finding their feet. We wre in control the whole game but could not convert our superiority into goals in the first half.
Early in the second period, Drinkwater played a lovely through ball to Brandy who was brought down in the area. Brandy duly converted the penalty to give United the lead. Just after the half hour mark Solskjaer made two substitutions and on '37 minutes, Norwood played a lovely through ball to King who rounded the keeper....seemed to lose his balance and opportunity and then drilled a low shot to the keepers near post to put United 2-0 up. Ben Amos made two great saves at the end before Ollie Norwood hit a free kick into the wall on the final whistle.
United lined up in a 442 formation.....Moffatt and Dudgeon the fullbacks...Drinkwater on the right of midfield and Brady on the left with Stewart and Brandy up front.
1. Amos
3. Dudgeon
4. Evans (c)
6. James
7. Stewart
8. Drinkwater
9. Brandy
11. Brady
12. Moffatt
14. Norwood
18. Wootton
2. Eckersley
5. Brown
10. Possebon
13. Devlin
15. King (11) on '31
16. Ajose (7) 0n '32
17. Morrison
Man of the Match was Oliver Norwood
Game 2 v Fenerbahce 2-2 (Possebon '14, Brandy '40)
The Turkish side proved sterner opposition and although we had the better possession we were over elaborate at times and didn't really pass the ball well. Nevertheless, with five minutes of the first half remaining, Possebon tried a speculative shot from outside the box and his low half volley beat the keeper to give United the lead. Rodrigo had been patchy up to that point so it was hoped the goal would help him start to dominate the game. At half time United led by a deserved 1-0 margin.
Once again we had loads of possession in the second half but tried to play as individuals rather as a team. On '37 they equalised against the run of play with a 35 yard screamer as we failed to close them down. A clear sign that the Reds should not be complacent. Then with time almost up, Brandy raced onto a through ball and slotted it past the keeper to give United what looked like a late victory. However, Fenerbahce raced up the other end direct from the kick-off...and with our defence at sleep equalised again on '41.
Aaagghhh!!!
Man of The Match - Matty James
Team
1. Amos
2. Eckersley
3. Dudgeon
4. Evans (capt)
5. Brown
6. James
10. Possebon
14. Norwood
15. King
16. Ajose
17. Morrison
7. Stewart (17) on '36
8. Drinkwater
9. Brandy (15) at HT
11. Brady (16) on '28
12. Moffatt
13. Devlin
18. Wootton
We played in a 451 formation with Ajose on the right of midfield and Morrison on the left with James, Norwood and Possebon in the middle. King was the lone striker.
The Turkish side proved sterner opposition and although we had the better possession we were over elaborate at times and didn't really pass the ball well. Nevertheless, with five minutes of the first half remaining, Possebon tried a speculative shot from outside the box and his low half volley beat the keeper to give United the lead. Rodrigo had been patchy up to that point so it was hoped the goal would help him start to dominate the game. At half time United led by a deserved 1-0 margin.
Once again we had loads of possession in the second half but tried to play as individuals rather as a team. On '37 they equalised against the run of play with a 35 yard screamer as we failed to close them down. A clear sign that the Reds should not be complacent. Then with time almost up, Brandy raced onto a through ball and slotted it past the keeper to give United what looked like a late victory. However, Fenerbahce raced up the other end direct from the kick-off...and with our defence at sleep equalised again on '41.
Aaagghhh!!!
Man of The Match - Matty James
Team
1. Amos
2. Eckersley
3. Dudgeon
4. Evans (capt)
5. Brown
6. James
10. Possebon
14. Norwood
15. King
16. Ajose
17. Morrison
7. Stewart (17) on '36
8. Drinkwater
9. Brandy (15) at HT
11. Brady (16) on '28
12. Moffatt
13. Devlin
18. Wootton
We played in a 451 formation with Ajose on the right of midfield and Morrison on the left with James, Norwood and Possebon in the middle. King was the lone striker.
Game 3 v FC Basle 1-5 (Possebon pen '19)
Lining up in all white for the last game of the day at 19:00 United started out well against the more experienced and physical Swiss side. But within 4 minutes the locals took the lead and we were playing catch up. It seemed that the Reds were still suffering from the shock of losing the last minute goal in the previous game. Brandy then had a good chance on '7 minutes but over elaborated and it went out for a corner. On '12 minutes, Febian had another chance, this time a header from a free kick on the right that he steered wide. Then on '18 the ever busy Brandy was brought down in the box and Possebon stepped up to score low past the keepers right. At half time we were holding Basle 1-1 although we had not been playing well.
A minute into the second half they scored their second which caused frustration in the team. We hadn't been playing well.....not got our passing game together at all.....and were lacking concentration. A minute later it got worse! After failing to win a free kick, Brandy lashed out at the keeper and was rightly shown the red card......a season's frustration was unleashed and now United faced real danger. On '29 we went further behind when a Basle forward unleashed an unstoppable drive that gave Amos no chance. By now we were all over the place and chasing the game. What could have been a 1-3 scoreline quickly turned into a nightmare when defensive lapses allowed Basle to score two late goals for a flattering 5-1 victory. To be fair United did not deserve anything out of the game and lots of heads were seen to drop after their third.
Man of the Match: Probably Corry Evans but it was a bad team performance all around
Team:
1. Amos
2. Eckersley
3. Dudgeon
4. Evans (capt)
5. Brown
6. James
8. Drinkwater
9. Brandy
10. Possebon
11. Brady
15. King
7. Stewart (10) at HT
12. Moffatt
13. Devlin
14. Norwood
16. Ajose
17. Morrison (11) on '30
18. Wootton
Brandy was shown a yellow before his straight red and Evans was also booked in the second half.
Original formation was 451 with King on the right...Brady on the left....the other three in the middle with Brandy the sole striker.
Lining up in all white for the last game of the day at 19:00 United started out well against the more experienced and physical Swiss side. But within 4 minutes the locals took the lead and we were playing catch up. It seemed that the Reds were still suffering from the shock of losing the last minute goal in the previous game. Brandy then had a good chance on '7 minutes but over elaborated and it went out for a corner. On '12 minutes, Febian had another chance, this time a header from a free kick on the right that he steered wide. Then on '18 the ever busy Brandy was brought down in the box and Possebon stepped up to score low past the keepers right. At half time we were holding Basle 1-1 although we had not been playing well.
A minute into the second half they scored their second which caused frustration in the team. We hadn't been playing well.....not got our passing game together at all.....and were lacking concentration. A minute later it got worse! After failing to win a free kick, Brandy lashed out at the keeper and was rightly shown the red card......a season's frustration was unleashed and now United faced real danger. On '29 we went further behind when a Basle forward unleashed an unstoppable drive that gave Amos no chance. By now we were all over the place and chasing the game. What could have been a 1-3 scoreline quickly turned into a nightmare when defensive lapses allowed Basle to score two late goals for a flattering 5-1 victory. To be fair United did not deserve anything out of the game and lots of heads were seen to drop after their third.
Man of the Match: Probably Corry Evans but it was a bad team performance all around
Team:
1. Amos
2. Eckersley
3. Dudgeon
4. Evans (capt)
5. Brown
6. James
8. Drinkwater
9. Brandy
10. Possebon
11. Brady
15. King
7. Stewart (10) at HT
12. Moffatt
13. Devlin
14. Norwood
16. Ajose
17. Morrison (11) on '30
18. Wootton
Brandy was shown a yellow before his straight red and Evans was also booked in the second half.
Original formation was 451 with King on the right...Brady on the left....the other three in the middle with Brandy the sole striker.
Game 4 v CR Flamengo 1-1 (James '21)
Day two gave the young Reds a chance to reflect on the previous day and put things right. The mauling at the hands of Basle meant that we had no chance of reaching the final, but if other results went our way we could still get into the 3 v 4 play-off position.
At 11:40 we lined against the Brazilians who had won their earlier game and thus the best we could do was finish third in our group.
We started the brightest and on '3 Ajose had a good effort comfortably saved by the keeper after some good build up play. They also pressed and on '9 Conor Devlin saved brilliantly at the feet of a Flamengo forward. Six minutes later another shot, this time from James from 30 yards was straight at the keeper. Richard Eckersley then collected a yellow card for kicking the ball away. A strange decision as the free kick was given to us! The half finished shortly after at 0-0.
Within a minute of the restart United had taken the lead. A great ball by Ollie Norwood found Stewart on the right wing. Cam had been a little wasteful up to that point, but on this occasion he beat his man on the outside and whipped in a low cross which Matty James ran onto at the far post to score. United now started to look their confident selves. However on '30 minutes....a Flamengo player took a dive near Joe Dudgeon that was unbelievable! A terrible decision! Flamengo duly equalised . Danny Drinkwater had two good chances to score...one on '35 that the keeper saved brilliantly from 12 yards and another which shot across the goal in the last seconds.
A game we should have won but the final result did not affect the standings...however the referee was poorest I had seen in some time.
Man of The Match - Matt James
Team:
2. Eckersley
3. Dudgeon
4. Evans (capt)
6. James
7. Stewart
10. Possebon
12. Moffatt
13. Devlin
14. Norwood
16. Ajose
17. Morrison
1. Amos
5. Brown
8. Drinkwater (17) on '31
11. Brady (16) on '36
15. King
18. Wootton
Brandy was suspended
The team lined up in a 4411 formation.....Moffatt and Dudgeon at fullback with Evans and Eckersley in central defence. Stewart on the right of midfield with Norwood on the left.....Possebon and James in the middle. Morrison in the hole with Ajose up front.
Day two gave the young Reds a chance to reflect on the previous day and put things right. The mauling at the hands of Basle meant that we had no chance of reaching the final, but if other results went our way we could still get into the 3 v 4 play-off position.
At 11:40 we lined against the Brazilians who had won their earlier game and thus the best we could do was finish third in our group.
We started the brightest and on '3 Ajose had a good effort comfortably saved by the keeper after some good build up play. They also pressed and on '9 Conor Devlin saved brilliantly at the feet of a Flamengo forward. Six minutes later another shot, this time from James from 30 yards was straight at the keeper. Richard Eckersley then collected a yellow card for kicking the ball away. A strange decision as the free kick was given to us! The half finished shortly after at 0-0.
Within a minute of the restart United had taken the lead. A great ball by Ollie Norwood found Stewart on the right wing. Cam had been a little wasteful up to that point, but on this occasion he beat his man on the outside and whipped in a low cross which Matty James ran onto at the far post to score. United now started to look their confident selves. However on '30 minutes....a Flamengo player took a dive near Joe Dudgeon that was unbelievable!
A terrible decision! Flamengo duly equalised . Danny Drinkwater had two good chances to score...one on '35 that the keeper saved brilliantly from 12 yards and another which shot across the goal in the last seconds. A game we should have won but the final result did not affect the standings...however the referee was poorest I had seen in some time.
Man of The Match - Matt James
Team:
2. Eckersley
3. Dudgeon
4. Evans (capt)
6. James
7. Stewart
10. Possebon
12. Moffatt
13. Devlin
14. Norwood
16. Ajose
17. Morrison
1. Amos
5. Brown
8. Drinkwater (17) on '31
11. Brady (16) on '36
15. King
18. Wootton
Brandy was suspended
The team lined up in a 4411 formation.....Moffatt and Dudgeon at fullback with Evans and Eckersley in central defence. Stewart on the right of midfield with Norwood on the left.....Possebon and James in the middle. Morrison in the hole with Ajose up front.
Game 5 v Real Madrid 0-0 (won 3-0 on penalties)
This match kicked off at 14:20 to decide 5th v 6th positions in very humid conditions. We faced an equally young Madrid side who had also struggled against more experienced teams.
In a game of very chances, Ollie Norwood came closest on '5 with a free-kick that dipped low at the last second and just beat the post. Other than that there was very little in the way of action for the rest of the half. Moffatt pulled up late in the period with what looked like a strain of some sort and was replaced by Brandy. 0-0 at half time.
We kept the same 4411 formation in the second half with Brandy going up front and Stewart going to fullback and Ajose into midfield. Once again the game had few chances with Brandy coming closest to breaking the deadlock, a shot from a wide angle that their keeper pushed out.
Thus the game ended 0-0 and went to penalties. We won the toss and went first....Ollie Norwood converting in the top left hand corner with a hard drive. 1-0 to the Reds. Conor Devlin then saved the first Madrid spotkick, diving down to his left. Possebon calmly slotted home number two and Devlin then saved the second Madrid penalty with a carbon copy dive to his left. 2-0 to United. Febian Brandy confidently notched our third and it needed the Madrid No. 8 to score and keep their hopes alive. Fortunately for the Reds he put his shot wide and we ran out winners 3-0 on penalty kicks.
Man of The Match - Joe Dudgeon
Team:
3. Dudgeon
4. Evans (capt)
6. James
7. Stewart
8. Drinkwater
12. Moffatt
13. Devlin
14. Norwood
16. Ajose
17. Morrison
18. Wootton
1. Amos
5. Brown
9. Brandy (12) on '20
10. Possebon (17) on '34
11. Brady (16) on '30
15. King
Eckersley was not included
We started with a 4411 formation. Moffatt and Dudgeon at fullback with Evans and Wootton in the middle. Stewart on the right side of midfield and Norwood on the left. Morrison in the hole and Ajose up front.
After the subs....Stewart went to right back, Ajose to right wing and Brandy up front.
This match kicked off at 14:20 to decide 5th v 6th positions in very humid conditions. We faced an equally young Madrid side who had also struggled against more experienced teams.
In a game of very chances, Ollie Norwood came closest on '5 with a free-kick that dipped low at the last second and just beat the post. Other than that there was very little in the way of action for the rest of the half. Moffatt pulled up late in the period with what looked like a strain of some sort and was replaced by Brandy. 0-0 at half time.
We kept the same 4411 formation in the second half with Brandy going up front and Stewart going to fullback and Ajose into midfield. Once again the game had few chances with Brandy coming closest to breaking the deadlock, a shot from a wide angle that their keeper pushed out.
Thus the game ended 0-0 and went to penalties. We won the toss and went first....Ollie Norwood converting in the top left hand corner with a hard drive. 1-0 to the Reds. Conor Devlin then saved the first Madrid spotkick, diving down to his left. Possebon calmly slotted home number two and Devlin then saved the second Madrid penalty with a carbon copy dive to his left. 2-0 to United. Febian Brandy confidently notched our third and it needed the Madrid No. 8 to score and keep their hopes alive. Fortunately for the Reds he put his shot wide and we ran out winners 3-0 on penalty kicks.
Man of The Match - Joe Dudgeon
Team:
3. Dudgeon
4. Evans (capt)
6. James
7. Stewart
8. Drinkwater
12. Moffatt
13. Devlin
14. Norwood
16. Ajose
17. Morrison
18. Wootton
1. Amos
5. Brown
9. Brandy (12) on '20
10. Possebon (17) on '34
11. Brady (16) on '30
15. King
Eckersley was not included
We started with a 4411 formation. Moffatt and Dudgeon at fullback with Evans and Wootton in the middle. Stewart on the right side of midfield and Norwood on the left. Morrison in the hole and Ajose up front.
After the subs....Stewart went to right back, Ajose to right wing and Brandy up front.
Summary
Overall United had not played that well. Although we were one of the younger teams we should have used our experience more.
The forwards found it difficult to make inroads and often tried to go it alone too often. Norwood and James, who both played all 200 minutes, battled away hard in central midfield without really dominating.
Over the whole competition, Devlin and Wootton did not do too much wrong but only played in two games.....so it was really only Corry Evans and Joe Dudgeon who I thought played anywhere near top form.
Ra'vel Morrison also struggled against defenders more than four years his senior. He never gave in and put himself about but was out muscled more often than not.
Overall a good learning experience for all the lads.
The Swiss teams finished 1, 2, and 3......fielding much more mature sides.
We will win it next year!
Overall United had not played that well. Although we were one of the younger teams we should have used our experience more.
The forwards found it difficult to make inroads and often tried to go it alone too often. Norwood and James, who both played all 200 minutes, battled away hard in central midfield without really dominating.
Over the whole competition, Devlin and Wootton did not do too much wrong but only played in two games.....so it was really only Corry Evans and Joe Dudgeon who I thought played anywhere near top form.
Ra'vel Morrison also struggled against defenders more than four years his senior. He never gave in and put himself about but was out muscled more often than not.
Overall a good learning experience for all the lads.
The Swiss teams finished 1, 2, and 3......fielding much more mature sides.
We will win it next year!
Great work!
Thanks for the matchreports Tony, great work as always!
United did not take part this year unfortunatley. Dont know the reason.
Boca were in the final against FC Zurich and won after penalties
Boca were in the final against FC Zurich and won after penalties