SUNDERLAND BOYS PAY PRICE FOR POOR START
Sunderland Boys Primary Schools football team finished as runners-up in the Peter Dunn Trophy in Darlington last weekend.
And that came as something of a disappointment, having triumphed in four of the previous five years.
With Jude Cogdon and Rory Nelson unavailable, the boys opened the morning’s fixtures with a game against Stockton.
Sunderland were excellent and should have won by a lot more than the 2-0 scoreline.
They took the lead with a great goal when a fine leftfooted cross from Bailey Corner found Ryly Deehan at the back post and he volleyed home excellently.
The boys continued to dominate and should have been out of sight but missed chance after chance before Deehan repaid the compliment by setting Corner up with a great pass that he confidently slotted past the onrushing keeper.
The second game against Washington on a much smaller pitch and saw a more disjointed performance which saw Sunderland huff and puff before finally taking the lead when Jesse Nelson converted from the penalty spot after the referee penalised a defender for a foul.
The boys pushed on after this but couldn’t find a second goal and had to settle for a 1-0 win.
With two wins under thekir belts, Sunderland were in a strong position and went into the third game against Chester-le-Street looking for a win that would just about secure the trophy.
However, the game started badly when a comedy of errors in the first minute handed Chester-le-Street a gift of a goal.
From the kick-off, captain Nathan Snowball gave the ball away and then missed his tackle when trying to retrieve the ball.
A mix-up between Oliver Worthington and keeper Finley Robertson then ended with an indirect free kick awarded to Chester-leStreet.
Sunderland should have set up a wall behind the keeper, and the goal was conceded when a poorly-taken free kick somehow found its way into the net.
Soon after, a free kick from the touchline sailed over Robertson’s head and nestled into the top corner to make it 2-0.
Despite the poor start, Sunderland showed a great deal of character and reduced the arrears when Deehan got on the end of a corner to force the ball home from close range.
Despite piling the pressure on in the closing minutes, Sunderland couldn’t find the equaliser which ultimately would have seen the trophy won.
In the final games, Sunderland needed to beat Darlington and hope that Stockton would defeat Chester-le-Street.
Sunderland duly won the game when Nelson headed home from another corner from Matthew Taylor who could have confirmed the victory when he got on the end of a far post corner only to head wide of the target.
The trophy went Chester-le-Street’s way though as their 2-1 victory over Stockton saw them finish on top with 12 points out out of 12.