Sunderland U21s played out a 1-1 draw with Gateshead on Tuesday before losing a penalty shootout.
Halloween isn’t until next week, and so, the last thing I was expecting as I made the short metro pilgrimage to watch Sunderland U21s face Gateshead in the National League Cup on Tuesday evening, was a jump scare from a trio of players who, to all intents and purposes, may as well be ghosts at the Stadium of Light.
Neither Abdoullah Ba, nor Timothee Pembele, nor Jay Matete had registered a single minute of competitive action all term, senior or otherwise, prior to the first whistle at the Gateshead International Stadium, with all three also spending last season out on loan in various locales as quaint as Dunkirk, Le Havre, and, erm, Bolton. It doesn’t take a behavioural psychologist to deduce that Regis Le Bris doesn’t particularly fancy them.
Still, the first team’s trash, so to speak, is oftentimes the U21s’ de facto treasure, and whatever the broader context may be - whether it come via necessity or design - the fact remains the same; here I am - perched on an empty terrace, laptop on knee, instant hot chocolate in hand, part of a 158-strong crowd heavily ravaged by a scheduling clash with a slightly larger fixture happening just over the river involving another club who also play their home games at a Stadium of Light - watching Ba, Pembele, and Matete slug it out amongst a gaggle of fresh-faced whippersnappers and non-league journeymen.
Perhaps the first thing to say is that you can’t fault their application or effort. All three treat the contest with the respect it deserves as hard yards are ran, loose balls are chased, and tackles are rarely, if ever, shirked. Of course, ring rust plays its part, and Pembele in particular looks to be blowing a touch as the contest meanders towards a monumentally apathetic penalty shootout, while gut instinct suggests that Matete was pickpocketed a little too easily moments prior to Heed’s opening goal, but by and large, the pair - and Ba alongside them - really do embrace the chance to properly stretch their legs.
Passes are fizzed about with an urgency that can often elude the game at academy level as a mischievous triangle forms out on the right flank between the two Frenchmen and Matete, stationed as he is in a number eight role. Ba frequently looks to get at his defender, and delivers a smattering of teasing crosses that never quite connect with striker Ethan Moore.
At one point, Matete nutmegs his man with the cutest of flicks, and 158 voices gasp in mildly awed unison. A little later, Pembele launches into a thudding 50/50 with a commitment as full-blooded as anything we ever saw from him in the first team. And all the while, Ba, in fits and starts and bursts of endeavour, tries to weave his magic.
Eventually, the attacker is rewarded for his busyness. A genuinely stunning through ball from the ever-impressive Jenson Jones finds Moore in the box, and despite the best efforts of Heed stopper Tiernan Brooks - who shone all night, it must be said - Ba is on hand to bury a rebound from point blank range. Some mornings you wake up assuming nothing special is going to happen that day, and then twelve hours later you get to witness Abdoullah Ba scoring in a Sunderland shirt again; life can be funny like that.
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Uncharacteristically, Pembele might also have notched a strike of his own had he been able to detangle the mounting stiffness and sort his knackered legs out in time to get a shot away after a looping lob found him on the dark side of Gateshead’s backline. At the very least, he deserves praise for hauling himself into an advantageous position in the first place.
And then came penalties; Ba converted with calm aplomb, Matete nudged a lacklustre effort into the waiting arms of the aforementioned Brooks - a sour note made somewhat more bearable by the relative pointlessness of the shootout itself. (Post-match, head coach Graeme Murty tells me that he likes the opportunity for learning that the pressure of a group stage shootout provides, and while I do see his point, I struggle to fully endorse it, nithered as I am up in the stands.)
So, where does this leave us, and what next for Ba, Pembele, and Matete? Well, don’t expect any of them to get the nod against Chelsea on Saturday. Their fate, you would assume, remains sealed; January exits beckon, provided suitable suitors can be sourced, and at the time of writing, where they end up has essentially entered “dart-in-the-map” territory. But if nothing else, there were signs of encouragement on Tuesday evening, and if this is to become a regular occurrence, and the trio can continue to tick over with minutes for the U21s between now and the new year, then surely that will only help their cause when it comes to seeking out a fresh challenge elsewhere.
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