Elliot Embleton’s first-half brace separated Sunderland Under-23s from Aston Villa on Friday night, as Elliott Dickman’s side secured an impressive Premier League 2 victory at Bodymoor Heath.
A close-range finish opened the scoring inside the first nine minutes, with the midfielder notching his second shortly after to put the Lads into a commanding lead.
Try as they might, but Villa were unable to break down the young defence and Dickman’s team pick up some considerable momentum going into next Friday’s hosting of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
A fast start for the visitors – featuring Embleton and new recruit Callum McFadzean in the starting XI – resulted in the first goal, as Embleton was on hand to tuck away a loose ball from Akos Onodi’s initial low save.
It was a momentous occasion for the England youth international, on his recovery mission from long-term injury woes.
And he was far from done. The second arrived just 18 minutes in, lashing a clinical finish past Onodi – who had already kept Oliver Younger at bay with a strong header.
A man-of-the-match display was nearly capped on the half-hour mark, as Embleton bent a free kick onto the outside of the post.
Villa’s efforts to halve the deficit would fail to come to fruition in the second half, as Anthony Patterson did well to keep Jayden Philogene-Bidace and former Barcelona youngster Louie Barry at bay.
The Black Cats showed excellent discipline for the remainder of the contest to see out a strong win ahead of next week’s return to the Academy of Light.
Sunderland: Patterson, Taylor, Johnson, Younger, Wearne, Wilding, Neil, McFadzean (Dunne 46’), Embleton (Curry 67’), Kimpioka (Hackett 68’), Hawkes.
Subs not used: Richardson, Steels.