Man United Under 21s beat Rochdale in National League Cup

Rochdale 0 - 2 Manchester United Under 21s

Manchester United’s Under-21s claimed their first win of this season’s National League Cup group stage with a hard-earned victory over Rochdale.

Author | Olivia T

Stadium | Crown Oil Arena

Chido Obi provided the breakthrough in the 11th minute, a neat finish that remained the only difference between the sides for much of a wet and windswept evening. James Scanlon added a second deep into added time to secure the result.

The win leaves United with three points from their opening two fixtures, with more group assignments still to come.

The first half was largely disjointed, though it did contain one passage of sharp pressing and composure that led to the opener. Jim Thwaites seized on a loose ball at the edge of the area, nudging it into the path of Obi, who finished confidently past former United Academy goalkeeper Tom Myles.

Flashes of intent followed. Scanlon produced an elegant touch to glide past his marker before forcing Liam Hogan into a well-timed block. Bendito Mantato impressed by bringing down a long pass and shifting gears to deliver a dangerous cross, which was cleared only as far as Diego Leon, who fired over from distance.

Mantato then cut inside to test Myles again, yet United were unable to extend their advantage before the interval.

Rochdale finally threatened after the restart, although Will Murdock’s first save was a routine one. United continued to look the more likely scorers, with Jayce Fitzgerald curling a powerful effort just over and both Overy and Obi drawing further stops from Myles. 

83' Griffiths picks his head up to find Burger in space towards the byline, he fizzes it across but can only find Murdock who clutches.#rafc 0-1 #mufc

— Rochdale AFC (@officiallydale) October 28, 2025

The home side did have a couple of half-chances but for the vast majority of the match, they looked just short of quality.  

Clear-cut openings remained scarce throughout, but United’s composure was ultimately rewarded with Scanlon’s late clincher to round off a decent night’s work. For Rochdale, this was a good opportunity for their players to test themselves against players who have had some experience at a higher level of football.