It's got to be tough for the lad, Portuguese football is hardly known for its fast pace and hard work
Sunderland AFC Under-21s started the Premier League 2 campaign with a 2-0 win over Norwich City Under-21s. Ellis Taylor grabbed a goal either half to seal victory. The first came on 13 minutes with a well placed finish following the Bennettte cross. The second five minutes from time, dispatching a penalty won by Michael Spellman. Tony Mowbray and his staff were in attendance to see a mix of first team and academy lads grab three points in wet conditions at Eppleton. Ellis Taylor nearly broke the deadlock just eight minutes in. The forward was able to cut in from the right-side and bend an effort towards the bottom corner only to be denied by Reyes. Just two minutes later, Taylor was involved again as a through ball to Bennette resulted in another effort saved by the Norwich Goalkeeper. 13 minutes in and The Lads took the lead. Great work down the left side from Bennette to find a cross into the area and Ellis Taylor this time made no mistake with a first-time finish. The hosts should have been level at the 25-minute mark as Welch raced through on goal before playing in Aboh who was denied by a great save from Young. The Canaries continued to grow into the game early in the second half. Forsyth had an effort just glimpse past the post after dispossessing Chiabi. Crompton went close to opening his PL2 account with two opportunities in the closing stages. Firstly, heading an in-swinging corner into the arms of Reyes and then firing an audacious effort just wide of the mark from around 25-yards out. Ellis Taylor had his second in the final moments as the referee pointed to the spot following a foul on Michael Spellman. The 20-year-old slotted past Reyes, sending the Goalkeeper the wrong way. Despite the continuous pressure from the visitors, Graeme Murty’s side picked up an opening day three points and will next travel to West Ham this Friday for the first away fixture of the season. Sunderland AFC: Young, Johnson, Crompton, Triantis, Huggins, Rigg (Chiabi 45), Burke (Bainbridge), Jones (Gardner 61), Taylor, Luis Hemir (Spellman 61), Bennette. Not that it tells you much
Sunderland AFC Under-21s were defeated on the road as West Ham ran out 2-0 winners at Rush Green. Goals from Marshall and Luizao brought Graeme Murty’s side their first defeat of the season. West Ham took the lead after 8 minutes. Chester worked the ball to the by-line before pulling it back for Marshall to finish past Young. Sunderland had started the game brightly before the goal with Gardiner, Spellman and Taylor all putting pressure on the Hammers’ defence. Just nine minutes later, the hosts doubled their lead. An in-swinging corner led to a scramble inside the area before the ball dropped to Luizao who was on hand to fire the ball home for West Ham’s second. The Lads had their first big opportunity half an hour from the end. Spellman drove towards the box before firing an effort towards the far corner only to be met by the gloves of Knightbridge. The Lads next travel to Notts County this coming Tuesday for the first fixture of the central league before returning to league action against West Bromwich Albion. Sunderland AFC: Young, Wilson, Crompton (Pye), Fieldson, Chiabi, Burke (Thompson), Taylor, Jones (Tuterov 65), Spellman, Gardiner Subs: Pye, Cameron, Thompson, Tuterov.
My mates lad just signed for Derby u21's they are using this new league as a big incentive for players because they will actually play plenty of games
Not a single tweet from the Academy account. Apparently from the replies on the original post it's behind closed doors, people went to Eppleton and were turned away. The article definitely did not state it was behind closed doors.
Nicked from the thread otr... No idea if they have a B team or u21 team. Comms from our end have gone dark.
The traffic hold up was unavoidable, the poor communications from SAFC unprofessional, still no news on the SAFC site. Shambles.
