Lingard Recalls Youth Cup-Winning Pals

Jesse Lingard may have scored the decisive goal in Saturday's FA Cup final - but he'll never forget winning the junior version of the tournament, the FA Youth Cup, five years ago this week.

Monday was the anniversary of a momentous game in Lingard's development, when he helped the Reds' Academy side cement a place in club history with an emphatic 4-1 win over Sheffield United at Old Trafford. It was the second leg of the Youth Cup final and Jesse had struck first in the away leg at Bramall Lane to kickstart an eventual 6-3 aggregate victory.

Lingard is one of three 2011 Youth Cup winners who are still at the club - with goalkeeper Sam Johnstone and striker Will Keane - and when we asked him to recall the triumph during a recent interview, he cited two other team-mates as being fundamental to the success of five years ago.

POGBA'S PEER POWER

The first colleague that Lingard recalled was Paul Pogba, who has gone on to establish himself as one of Europe's pre-eminent midfielders with Juventus and the French national team.

"The best player I ever played with at youth level was Paul," Jesse told ManUtd.com. "He was a great player for us but he was a humble guy who kept his feet on the ground.

"You see what he's achieved now and it's crazy. He's playing for a massive team in Juventus - playing well and scoring goals - and he even featured on the Ballon d'Or shortlist."

RYAN MIGHTY

Meanwhile, Manchester-born Ryan Tunnicliffe was perhaps one of the unsung heroes of 2011. The central midfielder, who now plays for Fulham, was very much the engine of United's successful youth team, with his tireless efforts and effervescent stamina allowing the likes of Lingard, Pogba, Ravel Morrison and Will Keane to flourish in attack.

"I loved having Ryan Tunnicliffe in the side," said Lingard. "Tunners is one of those players who was fearless and loved a tackle.

"He put a marker on the pitch and would protect you there. Without him, we probably wouldn't have won the Youth Cup because we needed a midfielder like him to control the team."

The 2011 final win was United's record 10th success in the FA Youth Cup; Arsenal and the winners for the past three seasons, Chelsea, are the nearest challengers in the table with seven successes apiece.