Interested to hear Murtys take on that with such a young side out. Got to be loads of positives in there.
Sunderland Under-21’s penultimate Premier League 2 match of the season ended in a narrow 3-2 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur Under-21s. After a goalless first half, the second 45 started with a flurry of goals. Felix Scott marked his U21 debut with a superbly taken brace, firstly cancelling out Callum Olusesi’s opener before Oliver Irow levelled the tie. Substitute Yusuf Akhamrich’s late strike was enough to claim maximum points. Sunderland Lead Coach Graeme Murty made four changes to his starting XI, handing Finlay Holcroft, Felix Scott, Bayley Hester and 16-year-old Marcus Neill their full Under-21 debuts. In the opening 15 minutes of the contest, there was little to show. Both sides shared plenty of the ball but failed to force either goalkeeper into a save. Jaden Williams came close to giving the visitors the lead shortly after. The striker latched onto a through ball but fired his shot against Kel Chibueze’s side netting. A crucial recovery tackle by Holcroft kept the scores level as Spurs raced through on goal; the defender expertly read the visitor's attack to stop what looked like a certain goal with a last-ditch block. Chibueze kept the scores level on 35 minutes with a brilliant point-blank save to tip Olusesi’s close-range header over his crossbar. The visitors returned from the break and took the lead with their first attack of the second half, Olusesi tapping in from close-range. Sunderland levelled on 51 minutes. 16-year-old Scott collected Neill’s cutback before coolly composing himself from 12 yards and side-footing his effort into Aaron Maguire’s bottom left-hand corner. Murty’s side continued to pressurise the Tottenham’s backline and got their reward on 58 minutes, Scott grabbing his second of the match with a brilliant strike from the edge of the box. Spurs equalised on 62 minutes; substitute Max McKnight advanced down the right before finding Irow with a low cross for a simple tap-in from six yards out. Rio Kyerematen came within a whisker of giving Tottenham the lead, the winger’s bending effort from 18 yards curled around Chibueze’s far post. As the match approached the final few minutes, an unmarked Akhamrich found Chibueze’s bottom corner from close range to seal the victory. The Black Cats return to action on Friday evening for their final PL2 fixture of the season when they travel to Bodymoor Heath to face Aston Villa as they chase qualification for next season’s Premier League International Cup. SAFC XI: Chibueze, Holcroft (Lightfoot 90’), Kindon, Bell, Jen Jones, Jay Jones (Mitchell 90’), Whittaker, Geragusian, Scott, Hester (Walsh 59’), Neill. Subs not used: Metcalf, Neild.
Disappointing result of course but some real positives with many youngsters stepping up I guess most of those who featured tonight will definitely be at the football club next season
Shame the SAFC site does not give us more info on the playing schedules or even a table updates now and again. as the academy teams progress through the season..
