FA Youth Cup Fifth Round
Wednesday 18 February 2026
Kassam Stadium, Oxford
Oxford United Under-18s… 1
(Holton 60’)
Manchester United Under-18s… 4
(Mills 12’, Gabriel 45’, Obi 50’, Ajayi 90+3')
Oxford United’s Under-18s exited the FA Youth Cup after a 4-1 defeat to Manchester United.
It was an impressive run for the young United side, who advanced to the Fifth Round after defeating Wigan Athletic and Colchester United.
It ended up being a bridge too far against one of the most impressive youth sides in the country, but it was a valiant effort in front of more than 3,500 supporters, with Josh Holton scoring a superb finish on the hour mark.
United got off to a bright start, with Mo Missanga causing issues inside the first five minutes and Mubarak Abolade having a shot which drifted wide.
Manchester United did however score after 12 minutes. A corner from the right was met by Albert Mills at the near post who powered a header home.
Darren Fletcher’s side threatened throughout the first half and Harry Jones had to make a number of fine saves to keep the score 1-0.
Right on half-time, they did get their second with rising star JJ Gabriel scoring. Picking the ball up 25 yards from goal, he unleashed a powerful drive into the bottom right corner.
Into the second half and it was 3-0 inside the first five minutes. Chido Obi, who has played seven times for the first team, was on the end of a perfect cutback and he finely finished six yards out.
United did get back into the game and it was a stunning goal to do so. Missanga was the architect as he cut the ball back to Josh Holton who calmly slotted it into the bottom right corner.
With almost the last kick of the game, Manchester United got the final goal. Noah Ajayi with his fresh legs from the bench sprinted beyond the United defence and smashed a shot into the near side-netting.
Defeat in the end, but a proud display for the young U's. Massive thank you to everyone who turned out to support the boys.
Oxford United: Jones, Palmer-Flynn, Osborne, Collins (Payne 35’), Cramond, Doyle, Abolade (M. Vaughan 71’), Holton, Lee, Vaughan (Dourish 58’), Missanga
Subs: Jackson, Andrews, Kiriisa, Purcell
Manchester United: Byrne-Hughes, Helafu, Mills, Armer, Kukonki, McCormack, Mantato, Thwaites (McEvoy 76’), Obi, Gabriel, Brown (Ajayi 76’)
Subs: Watson, Heath, Shah, Nkoto, Bradbury
Attendance: 3,565
