A brace from Republic of Ireland Under-17 international striker Dave Heagney (pictured) gave Town a share of the spoils away at Manchester City on Saturday in the latest FA Premier Academy League encounter.

The young forward netted both goals as Graham Mitchell's under-18 side came from two goals down to grab a point against the current FA Youth Cup holders.

City took the lead in the first-half, scoring goals in the 23^rd and 35^th minutes, but Heagney reduced the arrears going into the interval with a 43^rd minute strike - picking the ball up and striking a firm left-foot shot into the far corner from the edge of the box.

Mitchell switched his side from a 4-2-3-1 formation to a more attacking 3-5-2 for the second period and the Terriers immediately started to get the ball out wide to good effect. In fact, it took just five minutes to level the scores.

Town played the ball through midfield before passing it into the feet of striker James Spencer, who cleverly slid a pass inside the City centre-half for Heagney to run on to. The Irishman advanced on the goalkeeper before slipping the ball underneath his body to restore parity.

The second-year scholar could have grabbed his hat-trick with fifteen minutes left, but the home goalkeeper tipped another good shot over the crossbar.

Under-18 manager Mitchell told htafc.com that he was delighted with his side's character.

"I think a draw was the fair result on Saturday, but I was very happy with the manner in which the lads came back from a two goal deficit. Manchester City are a very good side and possess some top quality players, but we showed a lot of character to get back into the game from 2-0 down."

Town were without goalkeeper Damian Eastham through a groin injury he sustained in training, so first-team custodian Alex Smithies made a guest appearance on Saturday. Luke Williams and Liam Ridehalgh were also injured at the weekend, but everyone will be hoping to feature next Saturday as the Academy take on Manchester United at Storthes Hall in an 11am kick-off.

Keep checking htafc.com for all the latest Academy news!

Town's Team vs. Manchester City:

Alex Smithies; Jack Hunt, Spencer Harris (c), Leigh Franks, Stephen Brook; Chris Atkinson, Lewis Nightingale, Luke Durham (Dave Pickering 46); James Spencer, Dave Heagney, Danny Barlow (Chris Pert 65)

Unused Substitutes: Lewis Collinson, Aiden Chippendale, Ryan Watson