Remarkable trophy triumph for young Reds
Manchester United's youngsters pulled off the most remarkable of triumphs in the Sparkasse & VGH Cup five-a-side tournament in Germany.
Kieran McKenna's side won the Under-19 indoor competition in the club's first entry into the event, despite losing goalkeeper Ilias Moutha-Sebtaoui to injury midway through the four-day programme.
That loss meant Angel Gomes and Callum Whelan - a penalty shoot-out hero in the final, scoring and saving spot-kicks - were forced to don the gloves as the Reds prevailed by overcoming Hannover in the final.
On Thursday, United opened with convincing wins over JSG Hainberg (6-0) and JSG Nieste (3-0) to signal the team's intent. Although there was a 2-1 defeat to Mainz, JSG Weper were hammered 8-1 and a 4-2 win over Gottingen was achieved despite the Moutha-Sebtaoui injury. A 2-2 draw with Schalke, 4-2 success over Austria Vienna and 4-2 victory against Hamburg followed.
In the last eight, PSV Eindhoven were dismissed 4-1 with Aidan Barlow, Angel Gomes, Indy Boonen and Nishan Burkart on the mark, before Wolfsburg were beaten 3-1 in the semi-finals thanks to goals by Josh Bohui, George Tanner and Tahith Chong to set up the key clash with Hannover on Sunday afternoon.
Following a 2-2 draw, with Bohui and Burkart scoring, there was a lengthy penalty shoot-out in which Barlow was the only Red not to score with the unusual situation of the players, including the two keepers, taking multiple efforts. Eventually, Whelan made a second save to seal a 12-11 victory on penalties.
The United camp celebrated winning a trophy - the first of McKenna's tenure - as the organisers described the Reds as "deserved and historic tournament winners". Congratulations to the young Reds!