It may not have been a classic cup tie, but United proved clinical and showed an impressive level of maturity to clinch a 1-0 victory over West Ham in the FA Youth Cup fourth round on Wednesday night.

Will Keane pounced on a rebound to give United a deserved lead after 35 minutes at Upton Park, and that turned out to be enough to secure a fifth round home tie with either Newcastle or Grimsby Town.

Paul McGuinness put his faith in the same team that defeated Portsmouth 3-2 in the third round last week, and the Under-18s boss was not to be disappointed. Tom Thorpe shone at the back with a composed centre-back showing, while Larnell Cole was United’s creative spark in attack.

The opening half hour was predictably cagey as both teams sought to stamp their authority on the game. But it was United who quickly began to carve out the majority of the early chances. Paul Pogba had the Reds’ first sight of goal from a free-kick 25 yards out, earned when John Cofie’s powerful run was illegally checked. The Frenchman’s goal-bound shot was well saved by West Ham keeper Sam Cowler, who was again called into action as Cole teed up a Cofie shot from the edge of the area, which Cowler this time saved more comfortably.

It took until the 35th minute for United to finally beat Cowler, who never looked comfortable under close scrutiny. In fact, he couldn’t have made it simpler for scorer Will Keane. The opening was engineered by Cole’s sublime skill, controlling Tunnicliffe’s headed flick on 30 yards from goal, he juggled the ball Less