Sunderland’s Under 23 side were humiliated by Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League 2 on Monday.
The array of talented, homegrown youngsters rising through the ranks have given Sunderland fans something to be cheerful about as their beloved club tumbled from the Premier League to League One in just a year.
George Honeyman is Sunderland captain these days, Bali Mumba and Denver Hume have impressed in the first-team and Josh Maja has been a revelation in attack, scoring an impressive seven goals in just nine league games.
So the humiliation dished out to Sunderland’s U23s on Monday looks even more painful when you consider how much the Black Cats rely on their academy with funds tight on Wearside.
Wolverhampton Wanderers cruised to a 7-0 win against their North East opponents on Monday evening. And Sunderland’s U23 coach Paul Reid has taken to Twitter to apologise and try to explain where things went wrong.
There are certainly a few mitigating factors of course. Maja, Hume and co were unable to represent the U23s after starting the 4-1 win against Rochdale on Saturday, while the likes of Elliot Embleton and goalkeeper Max Stryjek are out on loan, the latter saving a penalty on his debut for non-league Eastleigh.
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