Sunderland U21s head to capital to face Spurs in final
Cock-a-hoop Sunderland U21s will face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday (3pm) with boss Graeme Murty insisting, “the players get to choose how the story ends.”
The young Lads beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-1 in the last 16 before a dramatic shootout win over West Ham United in the quarter-final.
In the semi-final at Reading, a hat-trick from Ellis Taylor, before a late winner in extra time from Trey Ogunsuyi sent the Lads through to Sunday’s final in North London after a dramatic 4-3 triumph.
Murty was brimming over with pride at his young side after the Reading clash and he enthused: “They were excellent in the first half. Structured, controlled, we dominated the game.
“We could have had many more goals because we had lots of opportunities.
“For 10 minutes of the second half we were really good and then Reading upped the tempo, the intensity and we looked a little bit flustered.
“Which is normal. And we put ourselves in a hole. We conceded quick goal after quick goal and you look and you think, ‘okay what have you got left? And from scoring two absolutely sublime goals in the first half Ellis [Taylor] pops up with a really important goal for the team at the end.
“Hopefully he can get himself fit and healthy for the final because we had to take him off but I thought the win was the least the lads deserved for 65 minutes of the game.”
He added: “I have to take my hat off to Reading. When we handled the first 10 minutes of the second half I thought we would accelerate away from them but they were relentless, they were physically intense and imposing and they are very good at what they do. They’ve got some very good players and our boys were put to the test. As a learning experience, to stand up again and show the resilience required to dig out a result when maybe our A game didn’t work was outstanding. I take my hat off to them.”
Now it’s Tottenham, statistically the best team in the country at U21 level.
“Firstly the players have to be professional athletes and recover. We have to give them that environment to recover. I said to them in there, they get to choose how the story ends. They chose today to give themselves another crack at it. I am immensely proud of them and whatever happens in the final I will be immensely proud of them.
“For us as a club it was the gritty realisation of what you have to have to play for this club. You have to have resilience, you have to have resolve, you have to have hard work and sometimes a pig-headed refusal to lay down can see you through.”
Tickets for the final are priced at £10 for adults and £2 for U18 and are available on the club’s website.