Milk Cup 2009: Brady fires Reds into the final

• Milk Cup 2009: Brady fires Reds into the final
• Milk Cup 2009: Reds hold their nerve to dispatch Desportivo on penalties
• Milk Cup 2009: Reds crush Cantolao to move into quarters

 

Posted: 30 Jul 2009 02:24 PM PDT

United will go head-to-head with Sheffield United in tomorrow’s Northern Ireland Milk Cup final after overcoming Fenerbahce 2-1 in a tense and incident-packed last four clash at the Ballymena Showgrounds. The Turkish side had the better of the opening exchanges and took the lead through Semih, but the game swung in a dramatic two minute spell at the end of the first half that saw Joshua King equalise for the Reds and Fener defender Okan sent off for handball on the line. Skipper Robbie Brady missed the resulting penalty, but went from villain to hero in the second half as he grabbed the crucial winning goal seven minutes from time to send United into their third successive final.

The big boost for Paul McGuinness heading into the game was the return to the side of Joshua King, who had missed all bar eight minutes of the tournament thus far having picked up an injury early on in the Reds’ first game against County Antrim. The big Norwegian forward looked dangerous whenever his teammates got the ball to him in the first half, but that wasn’t often enough for McGuinness’ liking as Fenerbahce dominated proceedings and forced Sam Johnstone into a number of fine saves. There was nothing Johnstone could do in the 26th minute however, when Semih found himself in yards of space at the far post and beat the big keeper with ease.

The Turks unquestionably deserved their lead and pressed forward in pursuit of doubling it, United really struggling to get their flair players into the game (Ravel Morrison the only one seeing enough of the ball to really look like doing something) and relying on the back four and Johnstone to keep them in the game. That all changed though in two crazy minutes right at the end of the first half, two minutes that turned the game absolutely on its head.

First of all, very much against the run of play, a rare quick counter attack from the Reds presented Will Keane with the chance to level the scores, and while Aykut in the Fener goal made a great stop from the #10, he couldn’t prevent the #9 King following up to head into the empty net. The United players and staff must not have been able to believe their luck and going in at half-time on level terms would have been a huge boost to those in red, but just a minute after the restart and now deep into stoppage time, a chance to take a remarkable half-time lead presented itself.

Keane again was involved, this time reacting first to a loose ball in the Fenerbahce penalty area after Zeki Fryers’s header from a corner had cannoned off the crossbar. The 16 year-old’s shot was all set to cross the line when Okan stuck out a despairing arm, and with the referee well-placed, a United penalty and red card for Okan was the only option. Unfortunately for the Reds, the dream turnaround didn’t quite materialise as Brady spurned the chance to add to his four goals in the tournament so far, firing his spotkick against the bar and away to safety. The half-time whistle was immediately blown and Brady looked inconsolable as the players disappeared down the tunnel for the interval.

Nevertheless, McGuinness will surely have stressed that United were in a much better position than they had been a couple of minutes before the break, and no doubt urged them to capitalise. It was obvious from a very early stage in the second 35 minutes that the Turkish side were going to be more than content to sit back, try and keep United out and either grab a goal on the break or take the tie to penalties, and in fairness they did their job well, the defending champions getting frustrated as their efforts to break down the ten men repeatedly came to nothing.

The frustration saw some tasty tackles fly in, none more so than one from Morrison which was more over-eagerness to make up for a poor touch than anything malicious, but could easily have brought him a second red card of the week. As it was, the referee showed leniency and only flashed a yellow card, but that in itself was enough to rule Morrison out of tomorrow’s game, his second booking in as many days.

That may have been something of a low point for United but it also seemed to finally spark the team into life, and minutes later, just as the game seemed to be destined for a penalty shootout, the Reds made the decisive breakthrough and Brady redeemed himself. Picking the ball up in his usual left wing position, the Irishman moved forward and blasted a dipping shot past Aykut with the help of a slight deflection. His celebrations showed exactly how much it meant to him to get the winner and to atone for his earlier penalty miss.

Fenerbahce heads dropped a bit then, and although they gamely pushed forward to try and get back in it, they only really succeeded in presenting United with chances to really kill the game off, the most clear-cut falling to Michael Ngoo, whose point blank header from six yards out was brilliantly tipped onto the bar by Aykut. Ngoo really should have buried it, but it wasn’t to matter as, after a slightly nerve-jangling five minutes of stoppage time, the referee blew the whistle and confirmed the Reds’ place in the final.

United now have the chance to make Milk Cup history when they take on Sheffield United in tomorrow’s final at the Coleraine Showgrounds. McGuinness’ group can become the first team to both win the Premier section four times and to win it in consecutive years, but they will face stiff competition from a Blades team who always give the Reds a tough game in the Premier Academy League. Kick-off is at 8.15pm, right after the Elite section final which will feature Corry Evans, Conor Devlin and Ollie Norwood in action for Northern Ireland. Both games are live on BBC 2 Northern Ireland, via the red button or on the BBC’s Milk Cup microsite.

UNITED
1. Sam Johnstone
3. Zeki Fryers
4. Sean McGinty
5. Tom Thorpe
6. Ryan Tunnicliffe
7. Ravel Morrison
8. Etzaz Hussain (16. Luke Giverin 70)
9. Joshua King (12. John Cofie 49)
10. Will Keane
11. Robbie Brady (c)
14. Larnell Cole (18. Michael Ngoo 64)

Subs not used
2. Michael Keane
13. James Wren
15. Jesse Lingard
17. Rico Gomes

Scorers: King 35, Brady 63 (Brady missed penalty 35+1)

Milk Cup 2009: Reds hold their nerve to dispatch Desportivo on penalties

Posted: 29 Jul 2009 03:59 PM PDT

It was nailbiting stuff on the north coast this evening as United’s Milk Cup hopes were kept alive with a dramatic 6-5 penalty shootout victory over Desportivo Brasil at the Limavady Showgrounds. After a hard-fought seventy minutes that saw the deadlock remain unbroken, centre-half Sean McGinty struck the winning spot-kick to send the Reds into the semi-finals.

What to say about the game itself? Very little unfortunately, with it sadly not being shown live nor covered in the daily highlights roundup. A real battle was forecast against this impressive Desportivo side though, and that appears to have been how things panned out, the Reds’ rearguard holding firm but the attack, bolstered by the return from suspension of Ravel Morrison, unable to make the decisive breakthrough.

The penalty shootout appears to have been a similarly even affair, both teams finding the target with their first five kicks (Ryan Tunnicliffe, Will Keane, Robbie Brady, Michael Ngoo and Larnell Cole for United) to take the game into sudden death. Sam Johnstone then made the decisive save from the sixth Desportivo spotkick, allowing McGinty to step up and clinch victory before being mobbed by his ecstatic teammates.

United now advance into the semis, and things do not get any easier – Fenerbahce lie in wait in Ballymena tomorrow (kick-off 6pm), and the Turkish side have arguably been the most impressive team in the Premier section so far, bagging ten goals in their three matches without conceding any themselves. Their progress into the semi-final was decidedly more straightforward, Irish side Cherry Orchard having put up scant resistance in a 5-0 romp for the Istanbul club.

As with Monday’s opening game, tomorrow’s semi-final (and indeed the second semi involving Porto and Sheffield United) will be shown live on BBCi (online and via red button) thanks to the BBC Blast initiative.

UNITED
1. Sam Johnstone
2. Michael Keane
3. Zeki Fryers
4. Sean McGinty
5. Tom Thorpe
6. Ryan Tunnicliffe
7. Ravel Morrison
8. Etzaz Hussain (14. Larnell Cole 51)
10. Will Keane
11. Robbie Brady (c)
12. John Cofie (18. Michael Ngoo 45)

Subs not used
13. James Wren
15. Jesse Lingard
16. Luke Giverin
17. Rico Gomes

Penalty scorers: W. Keane, Tunnicliffe, Cole, Ngoo, Brady, McGinty.
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In other news, our trio of Reds in the Northern Ireland U20 squad are a step ahead of their younger teammates, having qualified for the Elite section final with a convincing 3-0 win over Bulgaria in Coleraine. They now take on Denmark in Friday’s final in Coleraine, a game that will take place immediately before the Premier section final at the same venue. Both games will be live on BBC2 Northern Ireland.

Milk Cup 2009: Reds crush Cantolao to move into quarters

Posted: 28 Jul 2009 02:49 PM PDT

Skipper Robbie Brady bagged another brace as United put Peruvian side Cantolao to the sword in a terrific display of free-flowing attacking football in Coleraine this evening, taking his tally for the tournament to four in two games. Will Keane and Ryan Tunnicliffe were also on the mark as the Reds rained shots on the Cantolao goal, with only a great display from ‘keeper Patricio Musso Savage keeping the scoreline respectable.

As you’d expect, the South Americans were a talented side in their own right, but they made the fatal mistake of giving their opponents plenty of space and time on the ball, and United took full advantage. The game wasn’t even five minutes old when the breakthrough came for the defending champions, and it came from the left boot of Monday’s two-goal hero Brady. The 17 year-old Irishman picked up where he left off, curling a brilliant freekick in off the near post that Savage did well to get fingertips to but couldn’t keep out.

Further goals could and should have followed as United showed no signs of missing the injured Josh King and the suspended Ravel Morrison, with Will Keane, Michael Ngoo and Ryan Tunnicliffe all going close as McGuinness’ side sought to get a decisive lead. Eight minutes before half-time that wish was granted, with Tunnicliffe netting from close range after a well-timed run into the box.

If United’s football had been impressive in the first half, things went up a notch at the start of the second, with Will Keane finishing off a team goal of the highest quality to effectively sew up the three points. The move lasted fifteen passes in its entirety, and the movement and one-touch passing from Hussain through Brady, Fryers, Ngoo, Fryers, Ngoo, Fryers, Brady and back to Hussain to lay on the simple finish for Keane was sensationally good football.

The game well and truly won, McGuinness shuffled his pack and gave James Wren, Jesse Lingard, Rico Gomes and Luke Giverin some time on the field. Even at a relative canter United were still creating plenty of chances, Hussain and Keane both going close before Brady capped things off with another great strike five minutes from time. Picking the ball up from Giverin on the left flank, the young Dubliner produced a mazy run across the face of the penalty area, played a clever one-two with Larnell Cole and rifled a right-footed effort back across goal into the far corner. Four goals in two games, the sort of form Brady has previously exhibited in friendly matches but has yet to translate to competitive academy football – hopefully that will all change this season.

The Reds now advance into the quarter-finals, and have been handed one of the toughest possible draws – Desportivo Brasil, who of course have an official affiliation with United. Desportivo also won both qualifying games in convincing fashion and have impressed observers so far this week, so tomorrow’s game at the Limavady Showgrounds is likely to be a real challenge for McGuinness’ young charges. Kick-off is at 7pm.

UNITED
1. Sam Johnstone (13. James Wren 44)
2. Michael Keane (16. Luke Giverin 44)
3. Zeki Fryers
4. Sean McGinty
5. Tom Thorpe
6. Ryan Tunnicliffe
8. Etzaz Hussain (17. Rico Gomes 54)
10. Will Keane (16. Jesse Lingard 54)
11. Robbie Brady (c)
18. Michael Ngoo

Subs not used
12. John Cofie

Scorers: Brady 3, 65, Tunnicliffe 27, W. Keane 43