Sunderland 2nd’s 3 – 1 Sunderland 3rd’s

A late insurance goal from Sotiris Kyriakou helped Sunderland 2nd’s to consecutive victories. Kyriakou secured the win late in the second half as Adam Gill made it another nervy finish with a rocket from twenty-five yards for Sunderland 3rd’s.

Last time these sides met, just a few weeks earlier, it ended in a convincing win for the second’s but the game would be significantly closer on this occasion.

However, Sunderland second’s did begin on the front foot in the opening five minutes, dominating possession around the edge of the opposing box. James Noble tried to break the deadlock with a long distance effort after ten minutes but Luca Pompilii Killich collected with ease.

Sunderland second’s had a penalty shout just three minutes later when Anth Deans went to ground inside the box but the referee quickly waved these claims away. It looked like the opening goal of the game had arrived on the thirty-minute mark when Jack Murphy headed into the back of the net but the referee ruled it out for offside.

Less than one minute later though they did find their deserved opener, with Matthew Chapman darting into the box before firing into the roof of the net from a tight angle to make it 1-0 to Sunderland 2nd’s.

Not long after this, the ball was in the back of the net once again and their lead was doubled to two. James Noble fired the ball across to Matthew Chapman on the left-side of play, who controlled it perfectly on his chest before crossing for Jack Murphy and this time his goal stood.

Jack Murphy should really have grabbed his brace on the stroke of half-time but he failed to convert when the ball was fired into his path. It was a dominant first-half performance from Sunderland 2nd’s, where they controlled the game and rightly deserved both of their goals.

Paul Wright was never really tested as Sunderland third’s really struggled to find possession in and around their attacking half.

The second’s began the second forty-five in a similar fashion to which they started the first, passing the ball around well in the opposing half. However, it was Sunderland 3rd’s who found the first goal of the half and forced their way back into the game.

The ball fell invitingly for Adam Gill but he still had plenty to do from twenty-five yards out. His venomous strike struck the underside of the crossbar and beat Paul Wright to make it 2–1 and give them a way back into the game with more than thirty minutes still remaining.

At the other end Cam Abernethy linked up well with James Noble on the left flank, who’s high cross met the jump of Jack Bannister but he couldn’t finish off what was a slick move. The win was wrapped up with five minutes to play courtesy of some clever footwork from Kyriakou followed by an emphatic finish into the corner of the net to make it 3-1.

That’s now two victories in a row for Sunderland 2nd’s as they continue to grow in confidence each week. Hopefully they can use this win as motivation to continue in the same manner moving forward.