Sunderland U21s were beaten by Bromley in the Premier League Cup on Monday evening
Sunderland U21s head coach Graeme Murty has hailed starlet Jack Whittaker for his “absolute worldie of a free-kick” in Monday night’s 2-1 Premier League Cup defeat against Bromley.
The Black Cats started their Group H campaign with a loss, falling two goals behind before Whittaker stepped up to pull one back with a thunderously struck set piece from distance.
But while Murty was quick to praise the midfielder for his contribution, the U21s chief also admitted that his side where nowhere near the level they needed to be at to grind out a result - especially during the opening exchanges of the contest.
What did Graeme Murty say about Sunderland U21s defeat at the hands of Bromley?
Speaking to the club’s official website after the final whistle, Murty said: “We didn’t turn up in the first half, and we gifted them a goal. The execution of our game model tonight was poor, and we lacked quality at the things that we’re generally good at.
“We’re disappointed with how we’ve turned up in the first 20 minutes. We began to stabilise it, and got some good movement around the pitch and rotation of the ball, but we never really looked like we’d hurt them enough.
“In the second half, we were better, and we created four or five clear opportunities but never really worked their keeper. Jack scored an absolute worldie of a free-kick, but we never showed any more quality on the ball and it’s cost us.
“When we actually played and moved the ball quickly how we want to, we showed that we can dictate, but it took us 25 minutes to turn up. Although the team is young and learning, which I can appreciate, we have to start making the game how we want it to look and learning from our lessons. We weren’t really at the level we require tonight.”
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Sunderland U21s will next be in action in the National League Cup against Boston United on Tuesday, September 16th, and Murty also took some time to look ahead to that fixture.
He added: “Boston will be a different test, and the number of tests that we get them is fantastic. We get such a diverse range of games, and it’s brilliant for our players in their development.
“But, we have to consolidate that learning, and so, we’ve got to take everything we’ve learned this evening, understand how we compete in different phases of the game, and do a much better job on Tuesday night.”
What is the Premier League Cup?
The Premier League Cup was introduced in 2013/14, with 32 clubs from Premier League 2 and the Professional Development League. The tournament is split into eight groups of four teams, with each playing each other home and away. The top two teams in each group then progress to the knockout stages. QPR are the current PL Cup holders, after beating Brentford 3-1 in the final at Loftus Road in May.
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