Sunderland U21s picked up their second win of the Premier League 2 Division 2 campaign with a 3-2 win over Stoke City. The result means Graeme Murty's side leapfrogged the Potters to move above them in the table, coming from behind at St. George's Park.
The Black Cats handed six first-team players vital minutes as they continue to acclimatise to life on Wearside. Edouard Michut, Abdoullah Ba and Jewison Bennette all played 90 minutes despite featuring against Burnley yesterday afternoon.
Stoke took the lead through Sonny Singh in the first-half before Harry Gardiner equalised on the brink of half-time. The Sunderland striker would add his second of the afternoon just after the hour mark, before Michut completed the Black Cats comeback.
READ MORE: Sunderland's first half against Burnley showed they can compete against anyone, says Tony Mowbray
The Potters grabbed one back late in the game Kahrel Reddin, but the Wearsiders were able to hold on for all three points despite a nervy ending. The win sees Sunderland move up to eighth in the league, above Derby, Stoke and Aston Villa.
The Black Cats were dominant in the first-half with 61 per cent possession and five shots on target in comparison to Stoke's two. Niall Huggins' brilliant solo run went close to opening the scoring, before Leon Dajaku called Tommy Simkin into action.
Ben Crompton had to be alert to deny D'Margio Wright-Phillips just inside the area, but Stoke would take the lead against the run of play just minutes later. Wright-Phillips' corner from the right was flicked on by Harry Souttar and Singh was alert at the back post to bundle the ball over the line.
Sunderland turned the screw after going behind with Bennette and Dajaku goes close to levelling proceedings. But it was youngster, Gardiner who restored parity on the bring of half-time after good work from Nathan Newall down the left.
The second-half was a tighter affair with chances few and far between with both sides pushing for a winner. Dajaku showed great pace down the left before cutting it back to Gardiner for a tap in to put Sunderland in front.
The Wearsiders went close again through Bennette, but had to be thankful for Adam Richardson at the other end for keeping his side in the game. Michut scored his first goal in a red and white shirt on the 74th minute, finding a way to lose his marker and fire a low drive under Simkin with the ball just crossing the line.
It was end to end stuff in the final stages of the game with both sides pushing for a goal. Stoke grabbed a late consolation through Kehral Reddin with three minutes of normal time remaining, but Sunderland hung on for all three points.
Stoke City U21s XI : Simkin, Redfern, Curl, Roney, Souttar (Smith 71), Kershaw, Reddin, Sparrow, Tezgel (McGuinness 45), Singh (Lewis 49), Wright-Phillips
Subs: Jackson, Holland-Wilkinson.
Goals: Singh (18), Reddin (87)
Sunderland U21s XI: Richardson, Huggins (Kachosa 67), Crompton (Jessup 75), Johnson, Newall (Kelly 80), Matete, Ba, Michut, Bennette, Dajaku, Gardiner (Spellman 75)
Subs: Bond.
Goals: Gardiner (42, 64), Michut (74)
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