Sir Ferguson watches as Man Utd kids lose FA Youth Cup on penalties to Villa

SIR Alex Ferguson showed he's still keeping his eye out for future stars as he watched Manchester United's U18s lose to Aston Villa in the FA Youth Cup semi-final.

The legendary boss, 83, was at Villa Park on Monday night to watch Adam Lawrence's side battle it out for the chance to face Man City or Watford in the final.

United started Chido Obi, 17, in a signal of intent that means the wonderkid will not feature in the Premier League clash at Nottingham Forest tonight.

Also in the starting line-up were Tyler and Jack Fletcher, the twin sons of Reds legend and current coach Darren Fletcher.

Lawrence's youngsters had beaten Coventry City, Preston North End and Chelsea on their way to the quarter-finals, where they came back from 2-1 down against Arsenal to win 3-2.

More than 1,000 United fans bought tickets for the semi, knowing a win would earn them the right to host the final at Old Trafford.

Sir Alex was among those to make the trip, but he did not look too happy when Trai-Varn Mulley opened the scoring for the Villans after just four minutes.

The Scot, famed for bringing through youngsters including the Class of '92, had a fiery look on his face as he watched from the executive boxes.

He would have been relieved when left winger James Scanlon equalised for United, who are also coached by former defender Phil Jones, following good work from Tyler Fletcher after 23 minutes.

It was the Gibraltar international's third goal in the Youth Cup this season and his 19th in all competitions.

Scanlon's leveller proved to be the final goal of the game, with the tie going to extra time and penalties.

But it was heartache for Fergie and the United kids as they crashed out 3-1 in the shootout.

Rubin Amorim's first team will be hoping for better luck in the Midlands when they face Forest.

They will have had more than two weeks off since their last game, a 3-0 win away at Leicester.