Sunderland Under-18s suffered their second defeat of the season on Saturday as a Josh Coburn hat-trick helped Middlesbrough to a 4-0 win on Teesside.
The Lads ran Boro’ close for a large portion of the contest, going in one down at the break from Coburn’s opener.
The forward then added to his tally with 16 minutes remaining, before quickly tucking away a third.
Pharrell Willis rounded off a blistering seven-minute spell of goals with Boro’s fourth, signalling a defeat which sees the Lads 12th in the Under-18 Premier League, albeit with a game in hand on many of their divisional rivals.
Sunderland: Bond, Almond, Krakue, Baggs, Watts, Taylor (Foster 77’), Hindson, Turner-Cook (Gooch 65’), Johnson, Singh, Okoronkko.
Subs not used: Kelly, Fisher, Bainbridge.