Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson put the best of his budding talent on display in last Sunday's sell-out exhibition match between the English Premier League champions and South China.
Instead of fielding GBP7 million (HK$91 million) striker Andy Cole and the more established Gary Pallister, the manager put teenagers Philip Mulryne, Michael Clegg, Ben Thornley and Terry Cooke to the test before almost 40,000 spectators at Hong Kong Stadium.
'I always said I wanted to give these youth players a chance to show their worth and they performed admirably under the circumstances,' Ferguson said.
'These are the players who we will be looking to in the next two or three years. They are a bit wet behind the ears at the moment, but once they soak up the experience they will turn out to be good, decent players.' Clegg is considered the most dynamic of the three.
He was voted United's Reserve Player of the Year, an award once taken out by star midfielder Nicky Butt.
The Belfast-born Mulryne, 19, has played in the Red Devil's A team as well as the reserves.
