Sunderland U21s 3-0 Spurs - report from Stadium of Light

A disappointing Monday night for our Under-21s in Sunderland ended with a 3-0 defeat to the Black Cats, with all three goals coming in the first half.

Two goals on the stroke of half time left us with too much to do in the second half as we went down 3-0 at the Stadium of Light.

It seemed clear from the outset that this was going to be a tricky evening in the Barclays Under-21 Premier League.

The hosts missed a hatful of early chances - Jozy Altidore dragging the best of the bunch wide of Jordan Archer’s left post.

Despite seeming to gain a foothold in the match we fell behind on the half hour as Archer’s stray throw found the ever-dangerous Mikael Mandron who played in Martin Smith to slot home the opener for the Black Cats.

In a crazy two minute spell just before the break Sunderland all but put the game to bed, as first Mandron, and then Charalampos Mavrias, added to the scoreline.

The lads came out stronger after the break and might have seized a lifeline when the quick feet of Ruben Lameiras found Harry Winks on the edge of the penalty area. Unfortunately his shot was off the mark.

The result could have been worse had it not been for the strong shot stopping of Archer late in the game.

Despite a difficult night there were some positives to be taken as our Academy Manager John McDermott explained: “I thought the second half was better, there were some positive performances,” he said.

“Laste Dombaxe was very good, Kevin Stewart got to grips with their big striker (Mandron), and Harry Winks put in a very positive performance so it’s not all doom and gloom, but a disappointing result.”

Sunderland: Dixon, Celustka, Robson, Ba (Cartwright), Oliver, McNamee, Mavrias, Smith (Agnew), Altidore, Mandron, Honeyman (Watson). Substitutes (not used): Stryjek, Gooch.

Spurs: Archer, A McQueen (Goddard 70), Ogilvie, Dombaxe, Gallifuoco (McEneff 46), Stewart, McEvoy, Lameiras, Coulibaly, Winks, Oduwa (Georgiou 70). Substitutes (not used): Voss (GK).