A youthful Sunderland side conceded two late goals to see three points slip through their fingers against Norwich City on the opening day of the Premier League 2 Division 2 campaign. The Black Cats raced to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Caden Kelly and Joe Ryder inside the opening 22 minutes.
However, a more experienced Norwich side found their way back into the game before half-time through Tom Dickson-Peters, grabbing his second of the game with just eight minutes of the tie remaining. Abu Kamara then completed the comeback just four minutes from time with a low drive beyond Harrison Bond in the Sunderland goal.
The Black Cats youngsters were missing a number of regular U21s, having spent the last fortnight on tour in Canada, but Alex Ackerley's side turned in an impressive first-half display. The stand-in coach gave highly rated 15-year-old Chris Rigg his competitive debut in PL, while Harrison Sohna was handed the armband, while Michael Spellman and Kelly also featuring having been on the fringes of the first team in pre-season.
