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Sunderland U21s defeated Premier League 2 leaders Ipswich Town at Eppleton CW on Friday evening
Graeme Murty’s Sunderland under-21s claimed their most impressive result of the season on Friday evening as they beat Premier League 2 leaders Ipswich Town at Eppleton.
It was a night that brought a double goalscoring moment for brothers Harrison and Jaydon Jones, a long-awaited return for Dennis Cirkin and a first goal back from injury for Jake Waters. Cirkin made his first appearance in 164 days since the play-off final at Wembley, while Murty’s young side delivered one of their most complete performances of the campaign to earn a vital three points.
Sunderland made a bright start and took the lead inside the opening 10 minutes when Finn Geragusian played in Harrison Jones, whose effort crept in after taking a couple of deflections off Ipswich defenders. Moments earlier, Jack Whittaker had released Timur Tutierov through on goal, only for the winger to see his shot saved. Tutierov continued to threaten and later won a corner, but will feel he could have done better with his earlier chance.
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Six minutes after Jones’ opener, goalkeeper Ben Metcalf produced a sharp low stop to preserve Sunderland’s advantage. There was then a brief halt in play as Whittaker picked up a knock. The winger attempted to carry on but was soon replaced by Ethan Moore after being unable to shake it off.
With 10 minutes remaining in the first half, Sunderland conceded following a defensive mix-up between their centre-backs, perhaps guilty of overplaying in their own area. Metcalf made another smart save soon after to keep the scores level, and Sunderland fashioned a couple of half-chances before the break, but the sides went in level at half-time at Eppleton.
Archie Lightfoot replaced Cirkin at half-time as both teams looked to regain the initiative. In the 47th minute, Ben Middlemas slipped in Tutierov, but the winger once again couldn’t find the finish. Moments later, Harrison Jones fired a point-blank effort at goal, only for the Ipswich goalkeeper to produce an excellent stop.
Sunderland pushed from the resulting corner, but the referee halted play for a foul in the box. Geragusian and Harrison Jones then passed up further chances around the 50-minute mark as Sunderland made a strong start to the second half. Shortly afterwards, Tutierov broke through on the left but should have done better with his effort, especially with teammates in support.
Sunderland finally regained the lead when Tutierov’s cut-back from the left found Jaydon Jones, who applied a superb finish to restore his side’s advantage. Jake Waters, only a couple of games into his return from injury, then came off the bench to replace Geragusian. Three minutes later, Tutierov finally produced the goods himself with a smart finish to make it 3–1.
Ipswich looked to get back on the front foot after Sunderland’s third, but struggled to break down the Black Cats’ defence, with Ben Kindon and Joe Neild standing firm and goalkeeper Ben Metcalf impressing both with his shot-stopping and his composure in possession. Waters made it four for Sunderland with six minutes remaining, before Ipswich pulled one back just a minute later, as both sides finished the game strongly in an attacking sense. Rhys Walsh replaced Tutierov towards the end of normal time.
Ipswich Town had another chance to further close the gap but Murty’s men were able to hold on to the 4-2 victory. Sunderland’s win lifts them up to 23rd in the Premier League 2 table, moving them above Nottingham Forest and closing the gap on the teams immediately ahead of them. Murty’s side now sit on seven points from eight games, just one point behind Forest and three behind Blackburn and Aston Villa.
It doesn’t dramatically change the picture in such a large 29-team division, but it does pull Sunderland out of the bottom six and gives them a platform to build on after a difficult start. With two wins in their last three, the momentum is at least beginning to shift in a more positive direction for a young team, even by under-21 standards.
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