Newcastle United U23s 5-0 Sunderland U23s
Sunderland under-23s fell to a disappointing defeat to Newcastle United on Monday evening.
The Lads failed to get going at St James’ Park and they trailed 2-0 at the interval, as Owen Bailey and Callum Roberts pounced inside the box.
Any hopes of a second-half comeback were short-lived, with Luke Charman grabbing a well-taken brace following the restart.
And Elias Sorensen added a fifth late on, as Sunderland fell to a second straight league defeat.
Elliott Dickman selected a strong side at St James’ Park, as Denver Hume, Ethan Robson, Elliot Embleton and Luke Molyeneux were included in the starting XI.
And after missing last week’s curtain raiser against Stoke City, Benji Kimpioka was named on the bench.
Sunderland made a composed start on Tyneside as Molyneux drove at the Newcastle defence, but Freddie Woodman positioned himself well and was happy to watch the forward’s low strike fly wide.
The Lads were almost caught out with nine minutes played, but Roberts blazed wildly off target at the back post when he should have scored.
However, Sunderland failed to acknowledge the warning and fell behind eight minutes later.
A searching free-kick was headed against the crossbar by Stefan O'Connor, but Bailey reacted first to tuck home the rebound from close range.
And things didn’t get any better for the Black Cats, as they failed to clear and Roberts doubled the home side’s lead with 22 minutes played.
The Lads almost produced an instant response through Connor Shields, but the striker’s header was scrambled off the line.
Newcastle should have added a third following the start as incisive play carved open the Lads defence, but Roberts was unable to find the target one on one.
A similarly glaring miss followed at the other end, as Molyneux fired high and wide from six yards after excellent hold-up play from Shields served up a golden opportunity.
And they were made to pay, Charman adding a third on 58 minutes.
Sunderland continued to battle, albeit without creating a clear-cut opening, and the home side added a fourth eight minutes later, as Charman calmly converted his second of the game.
Off the bench, Sorensen notched a fifth late on to complete the scoring.
Newcastle U23s: Woodman, Sterry, Gibson, Bailey, O’Connor (M Longstaff 59), Watts, Allan (Wilson 52), Barlaser, Charman (Sorensen 76), S Longstaff, Roberts.
Subs not used: Cass, Harper
Sunderland: Johnstone, Hunter, Hume (Storey 69), Hackett, Taylor, Bainbridge, Molyneux, Robson, Shields (Kimpioka 61), Embleton, Connolly (Diamond 45).
Subs not used: Patterson, Bale.