The final word of the youth team’s defeat at Middlesbrough on Saturday…
ROUND-UP
Sunderland under-18s were made to endure their first defeat in four matches this afternoon when they fell to defeat at Middlesbrough. Basking in bright sunshine, Rockliffe Park played host to the second meeting between the young Black Cats and Boro in just five days after playing out a 1-1 draw at the Academy of Light on Tuesday. But unlike on Tuesday, Boro secured three points as Nathan Guru handed the hosts the advantage after 17 minutes. Then just ten minutes later it was 2-0 as Boro gained a strong grip on the match – Hayden Hackney applied the finish which proved to be enough to seal all the points.
MARK ATKINSON SAYS
“We spoke after the Middlesbrough game that we need to finish the season properly. We have West Brom next and we want to end our season with a performance that it deserves. We want to go out on a high. We have been pleased with the performances. The amount of games we have had in a short space of time have given us different challenges but to be fair to the lads their attitude has been first class. They have shown the attitude we want, and they haven’t given up. The first half was disappointing, but we had a go and we just lacked a bit of quality.”
HIGHLIGHTS
Watch match highlights from Boro below…
