The Premier League 2 side broke the deadlock in the 16th minute through an Ethan Wheatley header, but it was one-way traffic for the remainder of the afternoon as the Gers passed up a host of opportunities.
It proved a game of fine margins for the young Gers, who will take plenty of encouragement from their performance against a strong United outfit.
The Light Blues started with a real intent in the opening exchanges, carving out a promising moment inside 60 seconds when Paul Nsio and Robbie Fraser combined on the left. The full-back looked to pick out Ross McCausland from 12 yards out, although the United defence were sufficiently manned to thwart the danger.
McCausland stung the palms of Elyh Harrison in the visitors’ goal on four minutes when he was sent through on goal, before United responded with an opportunity of their own down the opposite end when James Scanlon ballooned over from an Ethan Wheatley pull-back.
Kieran Wright was called into action in the quarter-hour mark when he was down low at his near post to deny Ethan Williams after Shola Shoretire zipped a purposeful pass into his teammate.
The away side then broke the deadlock moments later when Wheatley met a dangerous cross from the right and made no mistake in heading into the bottom corner.
Opportunity knocked for the young Gers almost immediately as they looked to restore parity. Johnly Yfeko did tremendously to stride into midfield with the ball, releasing Zak Lovelace through on goal whose attempted knock around the goalkeeper was stopped at source.
That would prove Lovelace’s final action of the match as he continues to build his minutes following a return from injury, with his replacement, Archie Stevens, going close to levelling when he turned brilliantly inside the penalty area and arrowed a shot which whisked over Harrison’s crossbar.
Rangers were firmly on top as the half trickled towards its conclusion. The lively McCausland was denied by the feet of the United goalkeeper when he darted menacingly into the penalty area from a tight angle on the right, before Cole McKinnon’s header was collected by a grateful Harrison after Bailey Rice delivered the ball into the danger area.
There was still time for one more chance in the opening 45 minutes when a sweeping Gers move involving McCausland and Nsio allowed the latter to strike at goal, although Harrison was quick down to his right to gather the effort.
David McCallum’s side picked up where they left off in the first half, manufacturing a dangerous opening when McKinnon broke into space beyond McCausland and the midfielder rattled the inside of the post with a low, driven effort.
Rice was next to go close when his curling free-kick prompted the United stopper into a diving stop, before the home side were bemoaning their luck when they couldn’t force the ball over the goalline on 58 minutes.
Fraser’s wicked delivery from the left-hand skid across the face of goal, allowing McCausland to turn the ball back inside the penalty box. Adam Devine looked primed to sweep the ball goalwards, but his effort was blocked by a United defender and the away side survived.
Rangers couldn’t quite believe that they hadn’t equalised by the 65th minute mark. It was Stevens this time who took aim at goal, curling a left-footed effort wide of the top corner after Lyall neatly worked possession to the Englishman on the edge of the penalty area.
United’s threat on the counter-attack had been minimal in the second half, although they could have doubled their advantage when Scanlon was slipped through by substitute Mateo Mejia. However, Leon King was perfectly placed to produce a pinpoint sliding challenge to quell the threat.
The young Gers continued to carve out high quality opportunities. A sweeping move from right to left on 77 minutes ought to have engineered an equaliser as McKinnon pulled the trigger from Devine’s cut-back but was denied by an impressive stop from the United goalkeeper.
The Light Blues poured forward in search of the all-important equaliser in the dying embers of the match, but it was to be in vain as the referee brought the contest to an end in rainy Milngavie.
RANGERS B: Wright, Devine, King, Yfeko, Fraser (Harkness, 69), Rice (Strachan, 88), McKinnon, Nsio, McCausland, Trialist (Lyall, 20), Lovelace (Stevens, 30)
Subs not used: Munn, Allen, Allan
MANCHESTER UNITED: Harrison (Plumley, 61), Nolan (Ogunneye, 27), Amass, Aljofree (Kambwala, 61), Jackson, Oyedele, Lacey (Hugill, 45), Shoretire, Wheatley (Mejia, 61), Scanlon, Williams
REFEREE: Thomas Denholm
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