City U18s beat tricky Wolves side to maintain winning run

Divine Mukasa carved out the two best chances of the opening period with both efforts cleared off the line before the first half ended in a stalemate.

Gorman fired City ahead near the hour mark with a composed finish on the half turn in what was a much better start to the second half.

Wolves continued to fight and with the jeopardy of a late equaliser looming, City searched for a second that would give the team some breathing space. Substitute Samba fired a fantastic effort home in the final seconds of the match to confirm another vital win in the title race. 

With the added boost of another clean sheet, City sit one point behind Manchester United who have played one game more than Oliver Reiss’s side.  

WHAT HAPPENED

Matchdays don’t get much better than Saturday’s clash with Wolves. Clear blue sky, a warm breeze and dazzling sun set the scene for another important league test.

Our opponents had a clear objective when referee Dale Wilson got the game under way: catch City by surprise with a tense high press and try to score early. 

The first effort of the match saw two Wolves bodies try to nod the ball home at the near post on five minutes with City scrambling to defend against our opponent’s intensity.  

City’s first best chance came on 15 minutes when the dancing Ryan McAidoo navigated his way around three opponents before teeing up Mukasa.

The midfielder took his time and made the composed decision to roll the ball onto his right foot while being pressed. It took a fantastic goalline clearance from Wes Okoduwa to deny City the lead, which would have undoubtedly helped calm the tempo of a thrilling opening.

Shouts of ‘penalty’ rang around the CFA when Caden Voice put in a sliding tackle on McAidoo to deny him crossing the ball from the byline, but official Wilson waved away the claims instantly just after the 20-minute mark.

The next 15 minutes of the half flew by for the spectators who watched end-to-end, lively football but it was perhaps a fairly gruelling time for both teams with all 22 players giving everything to find the first goal.

Another goalline clearance, this time from Alfie White, eight minutes before half-time, denied Mukasa again with City looking the better side as we went into the break.

And it rung true when Christian Dunbar-McDonald delivered a cross from the left to Matty Warhurst near the penalty spot. The number nine did well to control the ball but the 18-year-old leant too far back as he sent his shot over the Wolves bar on 51 minutes.

But we would finally break the deadlock four minutes later. Skipper Braithwaite floated a ball in towards the near post, and Gorman read it well, darting in between Wolves’ defence to chest the ball down before firing home on the half turn.

Wolves looked for an instant reaction and less than a minute later Max Hudson pulled off an incredible low, one-handed save to deny Jake Wilcox after our opponents picked up a misplaced pass from Harrison Parker.

Dante Headley had a mouth-watering opportunity to double City’s lead in the 70th minute after nice link-up play between him and McAidoo. Unfortunately, the full-back curled his left-footed effort just wide of the far post from 12 yards out.

City’s pressure continued to pile up on Wolves. McAidoo pressured goalkeeper Josh Gracey into making a poor pass out. Reigan Heskey picked up the ball and fired a right-footed shot towards the centre of the Wolves goal which Gracey palmed away.

Then, Warhurst watched his effort fly over seconds later. Headley played a low cross into the striker’s feet after brilliant footwork saw him break away from two opponents.

With a one-goal deficit, Wolves knew it would only take one chance to end City’s winning streak. A great solo run by substitute Luke Rawlings ended with an audacious 25-yard strike. Hudson pulled off a fantastic diving save to maintain our lead as we approached the final 10 minutes.

The game opened up as our opponents chased a late equaliser but in turn it gave City opportunities - Warhurst, Mukasa and substitute Reigan Heskey all with chances to find a second. 

But it would be Samba, from the bench, who put the game to bed in the final seconds of the match. His thumping effort flew past Gracey for his second of the campaign to confirm all three points for Reiss’s side. 

HOW WE LINED UP

Max Hudson was named as Reiss’ goalkeeper for the match. And a back four of Dante Headley, Harrison Parker, Kian Noble and captain Kaden Braithwaite were tasked with helping Hudson keep Wolves at bay.

In midfield, deadly trio Harrison Miles, Finlay Gorman and Divine Mukasa linked City’s play together.  

After scoring in the UEFA Youth League midweek, Matty Warhurst turned his attention to the league and was accompanied by Ryan McAidoo and Christian Dunbar-McDonald on either flank.

CITY XI | Hudson, Headley, Parker, Noble, Braithwaite, Miles, McAidoo (Fletcher 89’), Gorman (F. Samba 72’), Warhurst, Mukasa, Dunbar-McDonald (R. Heskey 62’).

UNUSED SUBS | Grigg, Courtman.

WOLVES XI | Gracey, Dayman (Osifo 63’) , Voice, Okoduwa, White, Bradbury, Marwa, Ji (Rawlings 46’) Mane, Wilcox (Greenwood 63’), Ford.

UNUSED SUBS | Hardy, Bowen.  

WHAT IT MEANS

Following City’s win over Wolves and Manchester United’s late triumph over Derby County, our Under-18s are one point behind our neighbours who have played one game more than us. 

UP NEXT

City have a week to prepare for our next Under-18 Premier League North fixture. 

Reiss and his team travel to Stoke for a 11:00 (UK) kick-off on Saturday 14 March. Live updates of the game will be available on X: @ManCityAcademy with a detailed match report, on mancity.com and the official app, shortly after the game has concluded.