The City captain grabbed a first half double to edge Ben Wilkinson’s youngsters closer to a third successive title.
Finding the net with an emphatic early finish from a tight angle, the midfielder then added to that piece of individual brilliance with an audacious 35-yard chip over United goalkeeper Elyh Harrison on the half hour.
Just seven days prior, O’Reilly made a crucial late intervention with another impressive solo effort against Middlesbrough, sealing the three points with a stoppage time scorpion kick.
And while he insisted the victory was made possible by the team’s overall performance, the midfielder also described each of his goals in detail.
“I saw it bounce perfectly in front of me and then noticed that the keeper was off his line a bit, so I struck it and thankfully it hit the back of the net,” he explained when asked about his opener.
“For the second goal, the ball dropped to me near the halfway line, I got on the turn and saw the United goalkeeper was miles off his line.
“I thought ‘I might as well shoot’ and thankfully it went in to make it 2-0.
“Today’s performance was very good from everyone. We put the shift in and got the result, that’s all we could’ve wanted really.”
City didn’t have it all our own way though and needed to dig deep to come away from Carrington with maximum points.
Indeed, United halved the deficit with ten to play when Louis Jackson headed home from a corner, setting up a nervy finish.
It would have been cruel on a City side who had created several decent openings, and O’Reilly believes there’s room for improvement in this particular area.
However, the tie was settled in stoppage time when Seb Naylor curled home his first U18s goal of the season from a free-kick, and the captain was delighted to see his team-mate get on the scoresheet.
O’Reilly said of Naylor’s strike: “I’m very happy for him. He deserves it, he’s a top player.
“It was frustrating [to not score more] but we can’t dwell on it too much in the moment.
“That’s just for us to work on in training and make sure for next season and in the future, we nail it and score those chances.”
