New faces impress in front of Carrick as Man Utd U18s cruise to 3-0 win over Charlton

Michael Carrick cast a close eye on Man Utd's U18s as plenty of new faces showed their quality in a 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic.

The youngsters made a winning start to their U18 Premier League Cup campaign at Carrington as they bounced back from a narrow loss to Man City last weekend in the league.

There were seven debutants for the U18s in the City game and they all featured again in the win.

It is a new look side with players moving on including JJ Gabriel and it has opened the door for others to shine.

Jaume Camacho opened the scoring after 33 minutes before Yuel Helafu doubled United's advantage shortly after half-time.

Captain Rafe McCormack then added a third late on to complete a comfortable victory for Darren Fletcher's side.

Carrick was in attendance as United dominated possession during the opening stages and created several opportunities before eventually breaking through.

Junior Brown was among the first to threaten, working his way past two defenders before seeing his effort blocked.

Camron Mpofu then had a close-range effort stopped by a Charlton defender before going even closer moments later.

Mpofu forced a strong save from Logan Williams, but the flag had already been raised for offside before United could follow up on the rebound.

Charlton briefly threatened when Raynon Richman broke down the right and forced Charlie Hardy into a save, but United quickly regained control.

Brown and Jariyah Shah both had efforts blocked before Connor Laurie went closest yet when he struck the crossbar with a volley from a corner.

United finally made their pressure count with 12 minutes of the half remaining.

Mpofu reacted quickly after the ball broke loose inside the Charlton penalty area and laid it back to Camacho, who calmly slotted the ball into the net.

Jacey Carrick nearly doubled the lead before half-time when he unleashed a powerful effort from distance, but the shot flew narrowly wide.

United continued to control the game after the restart and were rewarded with a second goal.

Brown led a quick counter down the right and, after reaching the byline, picked out Helafu.

The full-back made no mistake with his first-time finish, driving the ball low into the far corner.

The combination between Brown and Helafu had caused Charlton problems throughout the afternoon and finally produced a goal.

United continued to press for a third, with Mpofu, Edson De Jonge-Seiros and Carrick all going close. Brown was also denied by Williams at the near post after cutting in from the left, while another United penalty appeal was rejected.

Charlton were eventually beaten for a third time in the closing stages.

Substitute Emmanuel Ziro delivered a low ball across the face of goal and McCormack arrived to tap home and put the result beyond doubt.

The victory gives Fletcher's side three points from their opening Group F fixture, with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea still to come.

After suffering a narrow defeat to Manchester City in their opening U18 Premier League game, United's young side responded with a convincing win and a clean sheet.

Line-up: Hardy; Helafu, McCormack (c), Laurie (Emsden-James 77), Watson; Carrick, Shah (McLaughlin 61); Brown, Camacho (Ziro 71), De Jonge-Seiros (McEvoy 61); Mpofu (Bradbury 71).

Unused subs: Watson, Ngwashi.

Goals: Camacho 33, Helafu 50, McCormack 79.

Line-up: Williams; Muvhuti, Randall (c), Jones-Lartey (De Castro 87); Laronde, Christian, Fleming (Hamann-Chanes 72), Richman; Podgorny (Ige 72), Jeche (Twum 58); Peterkin.

Unused subs: Lapper, Legisi, Simons.