Sunderland U18 2-8 Middlesbrough U18
Sunderland under-18s fell to a Wear-Tees derby defeat as a ruthless Middlesbrough side ran out 8-2 winners at the Academy of Light on Saturday morning.
The Black Cats fell behind 15 minutes in through Alberto Balde’s header but pegged the visitors back via Ryan Leonard’s 20-yard strike three minutes later.
Boro regained the lead just after the half-hour mark through Isaac Fletcher, before netting another two through Balde and Kian Spence to hand the Lads a mountain to climb in the second 45.
Connor Slack reduced the deficit after 57 minutes but Boro were ruthless from then on, netting four second-half goals to round off a morning that the young Black Cats will quickly look to move on from.
Proceedings began rather cagily with neither side looking to give away an early advantage, but that swiftly changed after a quarter of an hour as the visitors took their chance.
Spence’s corner towards the back post was headed back across goal by Gabby McGill and Balde reacted quickest to nod into the far corner and out of the reach of Jack Newman.
Sunderland weren’t behind for long however, as Leonard beat his man on the turn before bursting inside from the left-wing and sending a 20-yard effort into the bottom corner via a slight deflection.
The Black Cats were a match for the Teessiders after drawing level, although neither side could create any guilt-edged chances until just after the half-hour mark the visitors struck again.
Fletcher received the ball at the near post and beat Newman to place in off the far post and restore Middlesbrough’s lead and give Sunderland more work to do.
Unfortunately for the Sunderland youngsters, Boro proved clinical in front of goal and made it three a few minutes later as Balde capitalised on a goalmouth scramble to slam home from close range.
The uphill task became a mountain on the stroke of half-time as the visitors added a fourth when Spence finished the move off after a pass into the centre of the box from Joe Gibson, moments before Fletcher struck the post in search of a fifth.
The Black Cats needed to regroup at the break and looked to have done just that as Slack reduced the deficit 12 minutes into the second half, pouncing to slide the ball under Harry Flatters from close range.
Flatters produced a double save three minutes later to prevent Sunderland from grabbing a third as he parried Slack’s header then managed to tip Leonard’s follow-up wide.
Disaster struck in a hectic 10-minute spell for Paul Bryson’s side however, as Middlesbrough netted a further four goals to put the game out of sight with 14 minutes remaining.
Cain Sykes capitalised on Harold Essien’s blocked effort to send the loose ball into the far corner on 66 minutes, two minutes before Sykes saw his shot parried by Newman and fortuitously into the path of McGill who slotted into an empty net to make it six.
McGill added his second and Boro’s seventh after 74 minutes as he rifled Terry Stephenson’s cross in off the bar from close range, before Ryan Gooch saw his 20-yard effort saved at the near post in search of Sunderland’s third.
McGill rounded off the scoring from the penalty spot two minutes later, slamming into the roof of the net to leave Newman with no chance after Gibson was felled inside the penalty area.
Sunderland U18s: Newman; Ord (c), Pye (Cameron, 64’), Wombwell, Ekumah, Fawcett, Dicicco (Scothern, 64’), Gooch, Slack, Leonard, Kennedy.
Subs: Smith, Miller, Best.
