Wednesday night sees Sunderland under-23s welcome FC Porto to the Stadium of Light as they embark on the club’s FIRST European final.
Entry to the match is free but tickets must be collected from the Black Cat House ticket office in advance of Wednesday 17 May, as there will be no sales on the night of the game.
In the meantime, though, here’s how the Black Cats became Premier League International Cup finalists. . .
Sunderland 2-1 Benfica – Friday 18 November
Luke Molyneux scored a late winner as Sunderland under-23s opened their Premier League International Cup account with a slender victory over Benfica.
An attack minded Black Cats raced out the traps in the opening period as Joel Asoro unleashed a thunderous strike past Ivan Zlobin on 19 minutes.
It was a thoroughly deserved lead but the hosts failed to force home their dominance as they went on to squander a host of close-range efforts following a goalmouth scramble.
Benfica come out in the second period a different team and looked a lot more solid as Heriberto Tavares capitalised on loose defending on to level things up.
But Sunderland rallied late on and Molyneux slotted home George Honeyman’s dragged shot to secure all three points on a bitterly cold night at Eppleton.
Sunderland 2-0 PSV Eindhoven – Friday 23 December
Sunderland under-23s ended 2016 in style as they defeated Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven at the Stadium of Light.
Following a closely fought opening both sides went into the break having cancelled each other out.
George Brady went closest to breaking the deadlock but glanced his header, from Elliot Embleton’s corner, over the bar.
Max Stryjek kept the Black Cats in the game with a string of fine stops at the start of the second period before Embleton provided the killer touch on 69 minutes.
Joel Asoro wheeled away down the right flank before unselfishly squaring the ball to Embleton to touch home.
Damian van Bruggen then stabbed wide from inside the six-yard box as PSV looked to strike back before Asoro provided the clinical thinking to seal victory.
The Swedish star slotted home George Honeyman’s squared pass to maintain the Lads' unbeaten run in the Premier League International Cup.
Derby County 2-2 Sunderland – Thursday 12 January
Sunderland under-23s secured their place in the knockout stages of the Premier League International Cup following a dramatic second-half fight back at Derby County.
The Black Cats trailed by two goals at the break after Calum MacDonald netted a superb free-kick and Mason Bennett saw his cross turned home by the unfortunate Josh Robson.
But then, a quite simply brilliant comeback from the visitors saw them turn the game on its head.
Andrew Nelson led the charge following the midway interval as his goal on 66 minutes halved the deficit.
Rees Greenwood then saw his effort kept out by the feet of Kelle Roos before Cameron Cresswell turned the ball into his own net right at the death to secure Sunderland’s place in the next round.
Sunderland 2-0 Athletic Club – Wednesday 15 February
Sunderland produced a scintillating performance to defeat 10-man Athletic Club and cruise into the semi-finals of the Premier League International Cup.
The visitors began the evening brightly, Iker Hernandez mustered a number of openings as the Spanish club looked to force an early issue.
Sunderland’s patient approach paid off though, Ethan Robson stabbed home on 25 minutes following Joel Asoro’s parried strike.
But there was work still to be done as Max Stryjek whirled into action on the stroke of half-time to deny a venomous strike from Peru Nolaskoain.
Two minutes after the restart Elliot Embleton doubled the Black Cats’ lead from range before Athletic’s night turned from bad to worse when Ingo Córdoba was dismissed for a straight red.
From there the Black Cats closed the match out and booked their place in the semi-finals of the International Cup for the first time.
Norwich City 0-1 Sunderland
Sunderland under-23s produced a heroic display to defeat Norwich City and become the first team in the club's history to advance into a European final.
Joel Asoro handed the Lads a priceless lead with 13 minutes played, incisively rolling the ball past Aston Oxborough as he bore down on goal.
Glenn Middleton was then presented with a glorious chance to level the tie 20 minutes later from the penalty stop, but Max Stryjek producing a match-defining save to preserve the Black Cats’ lead.
Lynden Gooch peppered Oxborough’s goal with a number of half chances while City’s stopper made himself big on two occasions in the second period to deny Asoro and keep the Canaries hopes of progressing alive.
A late onslaught from the Canaries saw them rattle but bar, but the night belonged to Sunderland and Strjyek who made a number of huge saves to see the Lads claw themselves over the line.
Well done, Lads!
