Sunderland Under-21s secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Atalanta U20 in their opening fixture of the pre-season tour in Italy. The young Black Cats made a bright start and took the lead inside five minutes through Oli Bainbridge, who latched onto an in-swinging free-kick that bounced dangerously inside the box. The full-back showed quick feet to feint past his marker and calmly slot home to give Sunderland an early advantage. It was a confident opening from Graeme Murty’s side, who matched their Italian opponents physically and kept a solid shape out of possession. Sunderland had the chance to double their lead shortly before the break when Marcus Neill was brought down in the area after a surging run. The striker stepped up to take the penalty himself, but the Atalanta goalkeeper well saved his effort. Bainbridge almost added a second after the interval, rattling the crossbar with a thunderous strike from distance, capping off an excellent individual display at both ends of the pitch. Speaking after the game, Lead Coach Graeme Murty praised the attitude and resilience of his squad, many of whom are experiencing their first full pre-season campaign at this level. “I’m really pleased with how the lads approached the game. We were disciplined, competitive and showed we can match a strong, technical side like Atalanta physically,” Murty said. “There were some really good individual performances, but more importantly, the group worked hard for each other and carried out what we asked of them.” Murty also highlighted the growth he’s seen throughout the week in training and how the players are beginning to take ownership of their development. “We challenged the group earlier in the week in training and asked for a reaction — and we got it. We maybe could’ve been more ruthless in the final third and had more shots on goal, but overall, I’m really happy with the way they applied themselves.” With one fixture under their belts, attention now turns to Saturday, where a mixed group of U21 and U18 players will once again take on Atalanta U20 to conclude the week-long tour. Starting XI: Allan (Metcalf), Holcroft (G.Bell), Kindon, L. Bell, Bainbridge, Jones, Middlemas, Whittaker, Walsh, Scott, Neill (Proctor) Unused substitutes: Barker, Hunt, Dinsdale, Lightfoot, Hester
