Seaham Red Star 1-1 Sunderland U21
Sunderland under-21s were held to a draw in their opening pre-season friendly at Seaham Red Star on Tuesday evening.
All the goals were scored in the first half as Elliot Embleton converted a penalty in the 39th minute to cancel out David Paul’s header after just three minutes for the hosts.
The young Black Cats dominated large portions of the game but were largely wasteful as Joel Asoro and Andrew Nelson spurned good opportunities to assert their control on the game.
Keen to build on last season’s fine second place finish in the U21 Premier League, Andy Welsh fielded a new-look under-21s team which included four under-18 regulars.
While preparations for the new season are still admittedly in their teething stages, the development squad found themselves trailing after just three minutes when Paul rose well from a corner and managed to guide his header past a helpless James Talbot.
Sunderland dusted themselves down well though and began to patiently knock the ball around as the hosts were penned deep into their own half.
With five minutes on the clock, the young Black Cats fashioned their first chance of the evening as Embleton combined well with Asoro before feeding Carl Lawson who forced a good save from Seaham’s keeper.
Welsh’s side continued to pile on the pressure and Asoro should’ve levelled when his quick movement inside the six-yard box saw him presented with a gilt-edged chance, however the Swedish forward was unable to make a clean connection with the ball and the chance went amiss.
To Seaham’s credit they defended resolutely and made it particularly challenging for the visitors as Sunderland’s young guns patiently knocked the ball from left to right.
A lapse in concentration then saw Seaham presented with a rare opportunity to double their lead and had it not be for James Talbot’s fine reactions Robbie Bird’s strike would’ve done just that.
That proved to be the hosts’ last meaningful attack of the first half as Sunderland quickly reasserted their dominance on the game with Dan Casey and Asoro both going close with headers.
With 39 minutes on the clock, the young Black Cats were presented with a route back into the game as Lawson was bundled over inside the area which left the referee with no option but to award a penalty.
Embleton stepped up and dispatched his spot kick into the bottom-right corner to send Sunderland in at half-time deservedly level.
It was all change in the second 45 as Welsh made nine changes to his starting XI to give all his players a decent run out. Sunderland continued where they left off and were quick to get on the front foot as Andrew Nelson made himself a handful up front.
Dan Wright and Dan Pybus also settled into their groove well in the middle of the park and began to confidently pass the ball around as they made their mark on the game.
But for all of Sunderland’s pressure, it took them until the 74th to mark up their first notable effort in the second period - Jean-Yves Poame powerfully drove across the edge of the box before looking to cut his shot back into the opposition corner.
While the forward did well to find the right angle his attempt didn’t have the pace on it and it was a comfortable save for Seaham’s stopper.
The game began to open up in the latter stages as tiredness and fatigue came into fruition, but with time almost up Nelson, who had looked sharp since coming on at the break, pounced on a loose ball and forced another smart stop from the hosts' keeper as they held firm to earn a draw.
Sunderland under-21s starting XI:
First half: Talbot, Casey, Storey, Ledger, Brady, Mavrias, Embleton, Trialist, Agnew, Lawson, Asoro
Second half: Woud, Taylor, Ledger, Trialist, Storey, Molyneux, Wright, Pybus, Poame, Blinco, Nelson