Owen Hargreaves reacted to Shea Lacey’s 27-minute cameo in Manchester United’s 2-1 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion after a controversial sending off.
Manchester United were knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round on Sunday afternoon as Brighton claimed a 2–1 win at Old Trafford.
The visitors began brightly and took an early lead when Brajan Gruda found the net, capitalising after Lisandro Martínez’s initial goal-line clearance. Brighton threatened to extend their advantage soon after, but Danny Welbeck failed to punish a loose pass from Senne Lammens.
United responded with opportunities through Diogo Dalot and Benjamin Šeško, yet they went into half-time trailing by a single goal. Brighton doubled their lead in the second half, Welbeck powering home with 25 minutes remaining to put the visitors firmly in control.
A late surge from United saw Šeško reduce the deficit, but they could not find a way back into the tie. Matters worsened in the closing stages when substitute Shea Lacey was dismissed for a second yellow card, allowing Brighton to see out the victory and secure their place in the next round.
Owen Hargreaves on Lacey’s impact
Lacey was introduced just after the hour mark to add some directness and flair to a side that was chasing two goals.
As soon as he came on, he completed a great take-on before playing a ball to Šeško, who headed just wide, before seeing a striker a few minutes later go just over the bar from the edge of the box.
With United chasing the game, it was always going to get scrappy towards the end of the game, with the 18-year-old picking up two yellow cards in quick succession, with the second being particularly controversial. After tussling with Ferdi Kadıoğlu to win the ball near the edge of the pitch, the Turkish international went down fairly easily and won a free kick. In a moment of frustration, Lacey threw the ball to the ground and was promptly sent off for dissent.
Speaking after the game, Hargreaves reflected on Lacey’s red card and what he can bring to Old Trafford going forward, saying, “I feel bad for him. He’s only a young lad. I thought he was their best player when he came on. He’ll get people off their seats. He’ll learn.”
A steep learning curve for Lacey
In what was his Old Trafford debut, it will be a game to forget for Lacey, despite showing glimpses of what he can bring to the side for years to come.
The 18-year-old looked devastated as he ran across the field towards the tunnel, with the Stretford End clapping him off despite his moment of madness to reduce his side to ten men as they were chasing an equaliser.
This fixture will prove to be a steep learning curve for the young winger, who has started to feature more regularly for Manchester United, after being handed his debut with six minutes to go against Aston Villa by former head coach Ruben Amorim, before almost scoring the winner against Burnley in their 2-2 draw after seeing a strike crash off the crossbar.
It’s clear to see that the 18-year-old is extremely highly rated within the club, and after overcoming a series of injuries which have certainly hampered his development, he looks to have put those behind him, and can look forward to what is looking like a promising career at Old Trafford.
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