Mukasa double helps City best Brighton in Under-18 Premier League Cup

The visitors took a surprise lead inside the opening 10 minutes after Shane Nti converted from inside the six-yard box.

But City bit back quickly with a Divine Mukasa strike drawing City level four minutes later.

And it would be Mukasa again but this time to put Oliver Reiss’s side ahead after a superb long-range strike four minutes before half-time. 

City’s attacking edge continued early in the second half with Matty Warhurst extending City’s lead after an error in Brighton’s defence, forced by Mukasa.  

Luca Fletcher capped off another fantastic performance to extend City’s winning run to four in all competitions.  

WHAT HAPPENED

The sun was beaming on Saturday morning with one of the pristine City Football Academy pitches hosting our latest Under-18 Premier League Cup assignment.

The opening minutes saw Brighton contained to their own half with Reiss’s squad moving the ball quickly and purposefully.

In turn, Mukasa found a pocket of space on the edge of the box and fired a left-footed effort into the body of ‘keeper Alfie Mansell on six minutes. It was only a hint of what was to come from the 17-year-old. 

But to City’s surprise, Brighton regained possession within our third and Aidan West managed to drive towards the byline before a low pass into the feet of Nti saw him slot the ball into the bottom right corner two minutes later to put the Seagulls ahead.

Mukasa quickly made amends for his earlier chance which didn’t find the back of the Brighton net.

Ryan McAidoo’s quick feet saw him drive into the box and pull the ball back to an unmarked Mukasa whose left-footed shot made the Brighton net bulge in the 12th minute.

Neither team had a moment to breathe with the ball transitioning from end to end in seconds immediately after the restart.

But City would eventually take control of the tempo of the game with Seth Chingwaro, McAidoo, Mukasa and Matty Warhurst making it difficult for Brighton to maintain possession.

Reigan Heskey was next to test Mansell after Warhurst regained possession in the Seagulls’ third. But the forward’s effort was caught comfortably by the Brighton goalkeeper near the 25-minute mark.

An opportunity arose after a quick counter by City saw Warhurst nod the ball down to McAidoo. The latter fired an effort goal-bound from the edge of the Brighton box but Mansell once again kept City at bay.

Five minutes prior Max Hudson denied the Seagulls with a fantastic quick-reaction save after Nehemiah Oriola’s low cross was nudged towards City’s goal by Joe Belmont.

City’s resilience and hard work throughout the first half finally paid off five minutes before the interval. Mukasa’s second goal left spectators gasping at how clinical his strike was as his 20-yard goal flew into the top right corner. 

The midfielder was teed up perfectly by McAidoo who is in eye-catching form at the moment.

Mukasa was at the heart of City’s third goal, but this time not the scorer as he continued to be the vocal point of everything we did.

His run in behind was tracked by Jacob Vickers but the defender’s back pass was swept up by Warhurst who beat Mansell to the ball.

The City striker still had work to do but he managed to show some trickery to get around the ‘keeper and slot the ball home to extend our lead on 52 minutes.

Reiss’s squad had to weather a storm of Brighton attacks as the second half ticked on. They broke into the City box a handful of times but couldn’t find the end product with resilient defending on show from the home side.

Nti had Brighton’s best chance but the outstretched feet of various City players were enough to distract the midfielder who dragged his effort wide with 15 minutes left to play.

Seconds later Mukasa was denied his hat-trick by Mansell who got down well to the low, strong strike which looked almost destined to find the bottom left corner.

A flurry of fresh legs from the bench saw Brighton look deflated whilst City continued to turn up the intensity late in the game.

And the relentless mindset of Reiss’s team saw substitute Fletcher cap off another fantastic performance to extend City’s unbeaten run to five in all competitions. 

HOW WE LINED UP

Max Hudson was in goal with a defensive line of Rhys Thomas, Leke Drake, Kaden Braithwaite and Oliver Tevenan.

In midfield, Femi Fapetu was alongside Seth Chingwaro and Divine Mukasa.

And the attacking was led by Matty Warhurst with Reigan Heskey and Ryan McAidoo on either flank.

CITY XI: Hudson, Thomas, Drake, Braithwaite, Tevenan (Noble 78’), Fapetu (Courtman 78’), McAidoo (Midwood 71’), Chingwaro, Warhurst (Fletcher 78’), Mukasa, Heskey.

SUBS: Grigg.  

BRIGHTON XI: Mansell, Hayden, Anah (Silsby 66’), Ferdinand, Vickers, Gulzar, West, Nti, Belmont, Gorman (Ibrahim 66’), Oriola.

SUBS: Taylor, Middleton.

WHAT IT MEANS

City move top of Group A with four points but Derby and Norwich are yet to play their game. A win for Derby, City’s final opponents in the group stage, would see the Rams retain the group summit. 

UP NEXT

After the international break, City welcome Blackburn to the City Football Academy on Saturday 19 October.

Kick-off in our Under-18 Premier League North clash is scheduled for 11:30 (UK) and the game will be available on CITY+.