Bromley U21 2-1 Sunderland U21
Sunderland Under-21s suffered a 2-1 defeat to Bromley in their opening Premier League Cup group-stage fixture on Monday night.
Goals from Emeka Stepien-Iwumene and Sam German put the hosts two goals ahead before Jack Whittaker’s outstanding free-kick gave the Lads hope of a late comeback.
Head Coach Graeme Murty made two changes from last weekend’s 4-2 defeat to West Ham, with Archie Lightfoot and Felix Scott both returning to the starting XI.
Bromley took the lead in unfortunate circumstances when Isaac Allan’s straight pass, aimed for Marshall Burke, was intercepted by Stepien-Iwumene, who clinically fired past the Sunderland goalkeeper.
The Lads almost hit back immediately, but Ethan Moore’s low effort was denied by the outstretched leg of Dillon Addai.
Murty’s side continued to probe, with both Moore and Whittaker seeing first-half efforts fly narrowly over the crossbar. Moore again threatened after the restart, his left-footed shot rolling agonisingly wide of the far post.
At the other end, Allan produced a magnificent save to keep Sunderland within touching distance, denying George Evans’ close-range strike with a superb reaction stop.
However, the hosts doubled their advantage when German’s looping header found the bottom-right corner.
Murty’s side responded almost instantly, as Whittaker’s thunderous free-kick crashed off the underside of the crossbar and over the line to halve the deficit.
Jenson Jones came closest to rescuing a point in the closing stages, but his goal-bound strike was deflected wide.
Attention now turns to the National League Cup, with Murty’s side set to visit Boston United next Tuesday (7pm kick-off).
Sunderland U21: Allan, Jenson Jones, Holcroft, Kindon, Lightfoot, Burke, Middlemas, Jaydon Jones (Dinsdale 74’), Whittaker (Proctor 74’), Moore (Geragusian 72’), Scott
Subs not used: Metcalf, Neild