Sunderland U23s 2-0 Hertha Berlin
Sam Lightle reviews the action from the Stadium of Light as Paddy McNair marked his return from the treatment room with a goal against Hertha Berlin.
THE WRAP
Sunderland under-23s got their Premier League International Cup campaign off to the perfect start tonight against Hertha Berlin at the Stadium of Light. McNair opened the scoring in a tight match, netting a looping header on 37 minutes to give the Black Cats a slender advantage. Hertha Berlin pressed hard in the second period, but Beadling netted a late penalty to secure all three points and get Sunderland’s group B campaign off to a winning start. Ha’way the Lads!
KNICK KNACK PADDY WACK HE’S BACK!
McNair clocked his first minutes in 10 months this evening for Sunderland under-23s. The Northern Ireland international suffered a season-ending knee injury last November, but after 10 months on the sidelines, McNair returned to action and made it a night to remember. Duncan Watmore also started for the Black Cats, with Donald Love, Brendan Galloway and Jack Rodwell also included.
SLOW BUT STEADY
Scrappy. Neither side managed to get a hold of the ball in the opening minutes as stray passes from James Talbot and full-back Love flew out of play down the right side. McNair was tidy in the middle of the park, lining up alongside combative Adam Bale, and carved out the first opening as he swept the ball out to the right where Love’s cross flicked off a Hertha Berlin body and into the air. Leon Bruggemeier rushed off his line to punch clear but had Molyneux hampering his space forcing the stopper to only half clear. Molyneux then breezed down the right flank, Watmore pointed and shouted where he wanted him to put it. But the intricate winger opted to go alone and came inside before being felled. With 22 minutes on the clock Molyneux looked to atone and picked out the Roadrunner’s movement off the shoulder of Berlin’s last man. Unfortunately, Molyneux’s pass was too strong and the move once again broke down.
TALBOT TO THANK
Sunderland then had stopper Talbot to thank with 27 minutes played, Shawn Kauter moved through the lines from midfield and ghosted onto a ball that somehow found a way through Bale and Tom Beadling. Talbot dashed off his line and did well to turn away Kauter’s effort which was at a comfortable height for him to keep out. And that saved seem to spark the match into life, with Watmore being man handled as he bore down on goal. Bruggemeier kept out the Roadrunner’s effort with his chest but strong appeals followed as Watmore was left in a heap on the deck after Nico Beyer appeared to have hauled him to the ground.
ON THE SCORESHEET
Fitting. McNair marked his return with a goal on 37 minutes. The midfielder handed the Black Cats the lead over their German opposition with a looping header after Watmore’s initial strike had been saved and ballooned into the air. It was a goal that capped an accomplished 45-minute display from the Northern Ireland international. Tidy with the ball, moments before scoring the 22-year-old played a perfectly-weighted ball with the outside of his boot into the path of Watmore who wheeled away down the right flank. Ethan Robson then stung the gloves of Bruggemeier with a rasping free-kick before Brendan Galloway almost danced his way into the box after a flying run down the left, as the Black Cats looked to take full control before the break.
CHANGES AT THE TREBLE
McNair, Watmore and Ethan Robson departed at the midway point, allowing youngsters Owen Gamble, Andrew Nelson and Jack Diamond the chance to showcase their talents at the Stadium of Light. For McNair and Watmore in particular, it has been another pleasing night for them, with McNair gaining his first taste of match action in just under a year while Watmore once again ramped up his recovery programme ahead of Saturday’s Sky Bet Championship clash against QPR on Wearside. The German outfit looked bright in the second 45, working their way down both flanks in an attempt to unlock an opening in the reshuffled Sunderland side. Talbot was busy but comfortable as Tahsin Cakmak drilled a strike into the side netting from the right side of the box. The lively winger then curled an effort a fraction over the bar, attempting an audacious effort from the corner which flew across goal and a yard wide of the far post. Rattled.
ON THE ROPES
Cakmak was beginning to run the show for the visitors. A quick free-kick taken to Tony Fuchs saw Talbot whirl into action as he came off his line to collect the fizzing cross which flew into the mix. But Sunderland did well to steady the ship after an intense storm, and Beadling very nearly headed the Black Cats into a 2-0 lead off Rees Greenwood’s floated free-kick. Minutes later, Greenwood’s set-pieces caused havoc once again as a scramble dropped to Beadling and his drive deflected away for a corner. But with the scoreline just 1-0, Hertha Berlin reminded well and truly in the International Cup tie, right up until the last whistle as Cakmak’s wizardry down the right continued to cause Sunderland problems. The Black Cats held on though, and netted a late second when Diamond’s searching run saw him clipped inside the area. Beadling stepped up and calmly slotted the ball home, sending the keeper the wrong way. Game over.
Sunderland U23s: Talbot, Love, Galloway, Bale, Beadling, Rodwell, Molyneux, Robson (Gamble, 45), Watmore (Nelson, 45), McNair (Diamond, 45), Greenwood.
Subs: Taylor, Woud, Hackett
Hertha Berlin: Bruggemeier, Klehr, Fuchs, Cakmak, Morack, Mittelstadt, Kauter, Kiprit, Haubitz, Mirbach (Zografakis, 67), Beyer.
Subs: Schaffran, Egerer, Zografakis, Tezel, Ernesto, Blumberg