Alex Neil and Kristjaan Speakman were both in attendance as Sunderland's youngsters were comfortably beaten by Aston Villa's Under 21's. The Black Cats went 2-0 down inside seven minutes as the visitors raced out of the blocks with two almost identical finished from Declan Frith.
Brad Young would add another for the .young Villa side just before the break to leave Sunderland with a mountain to climb in the second-half.
It was a baptism of fire for Sunderland's Under-21's who have had two interim managers inside two games. John Hewitson made seven changes from the young Sunderland side that tasted defeat against Norwich City on the opening day of the Premier League 2 campaign, handing handed Callum Wilson and Max Thompson their debuts for the club at PL2 level.
