Sir Alex Ferguson was given one last going away present on his first day of retirement as Manchester United's youth side lifted the U21 Premier League title with a 3-2 win over their Tottenham Hotspur counterparts.

In true United style, the club's latest batch of fledglings did not take the easy route to success, falling 2-0 behind in the first half with goals from Jonathan Obika and Alex Pritchard until a Marnick Vermijl effort restored hope.

The in-form Larnell Cole would add to the hat trick he struck past Liverpool last week when he snatched an equaliser and eventual winner late on in the proceedings.

Sir Alex Ferguson
Ferguson's first day of retirement was marked by U21 success. (Reuters)

Spurs entered the contest the more fancied of the two sides on the back of a rampant campaign which has seen them finish atop the newly revamped U21 Premier League, hitting an impressive 77 goals in their 26 matches along the way.

Obika, who put Warren Joyce's United side to the sword earlier in the season by grabbing a stunning hat-trick, was on the scene again to dent United hopes when he opened the scoring, bundling the ball home after challenging United goalkeeper Ben Amos.

Enfield-born Obika was heavily involved in Tottenham's second, intercepting a wayward pass from Ryan Tunnicliffe before spreading the ball to Pritchard who struck a venomous effort into the bottom corner to give Spurs a healthy lead.

The half time introduction of Tom Lawrence replacing Ben Pearson saw United begin to claw their way back into the contest after a disheartening opener.

His introduction allowed the highly-rated Adnan Januzaj, who was named in United's first team squad for Sunday's 5-5 draw with West Brom, to grow into the contest, and the side's renewed desire was rewarded after 59 minutes when a through ball from Tunnicliffe found the overlapping Belgian Vermijl, who expertly fired past Jordan Archer.

Cole, who scored two penalties on the way to sealing a hat trick in United's 3-0 win over Liverpool last week, was harshly booked for diving when it appeared the Tottenham keeper Archer had been the guilty party, but the midfielder was not to be dismayed for too long. A smart finish from Cole in the penalty box saw United level the game, but with extra time seemingly looming, Joyce's young side still had the wherewithal to fashion one last chance.

More intricate play from Januzaj allowed Lawrence to slide a ball through to Cole, who astutely added his fifth goal in two games to hand United the title through a characteristically late victory.

Manchester United FC