Man City U18s beat West Ham to complete unique treble double

MANCHESTER CITY Under-18s beat Youth Cup winners West Ham 2-1 in extra time at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday to complete a unique treble double.

The final pitted together the winners of the U18s leagues for the north and south, with City’s top scorer, Justin Oboavwoduo, clinching the winner. Last month West Ham's U18s, led by former midfielder Kevin Keen, had won the FA Youth Cup, beating Arsenal 5-1 in the final a the Emirates.

City are the first team to have won three consecutive U18 finals and also the first to win a 'double treble' of U18 and Premier League 2 titles.

City’s U21s, led by Brian Barry-Murphy, clinched their third straight Premier League 2 title at the end of last month. This was also the first time that any club had won PL2 three years in a row.

Academy Director Jason Wilcox, who is leaving City this summer to become Southampton's Director of Football, said: "While development is central to our day-to-day programme at the Academy, winning titles reinforces that this Club is doing the right things on and off the pitch in terms of creating good footballers and good people.

“So many people work hard every single day to make sure our Academy is the best it can be. This win is for all of them."

Pep Guardiola, whose first team are bidding for their own hat-trick of Premier League titles, added: “Our U18s have again done something special this season. To defend the title they have won in the last two seasons and experience the pressure of a final shows the outstanding mentality of all players and staff.

“The way they have played, taking the game to their opponents and always looking to score more goals, is a great display of the football we want to play at City.

“I want to say a huge congratulations to [U18s manager] Ben [Wilkinson], his staff and all the players. Make the most of this special moment, I know it has taken a lot of hard work.”

City’s U18s won 19 of their 24 games of the regular season, including 13 consecutive victories at the end of the campaign. They scored 81 goals across the 24 games, averaging 3.3 goals per game.