Sunderland opened their League One campaign with a 2-1 home win over Charlton Athletic.
Sunderland kicked off their League One campaign on Saturday afternoon with a home clash against Charlton Athletic – and they came from behind to claim a 2-1 win.
The Black Cats may have suffered successive relegations, but some may have had some form of optimism heading into the League One campaign under Jack Ross, after backing the Scot with a raft of new signings this summer.
New faces Jon McLaughlin, Glenn Loovens, Alim Ozturk, Luke O’Nien and Chris Maguire all started against Charlton, but it was a transfer target Ross missed out on who opened the scoring at the Stadium of Light.
Lyle Taylor – who snubbed Sunderland for Charlton – scored from the penalty spot after Karlan Ahearne-Grant had been brought down, but the Addicks crumbled after the break.
A fine left-footed drive from Josh Maja brought Sunderland level in the second half, and Lynden Gooch powered home a 96th minute header to give the Black Cats all three points in the opening day of the League One campaign.
Sunderland fans will have seen some shoots of recovery on Saturday afternoon, and the emergence of teenage midfielder Bali Mumba will have been hugely promising to see.
Mumba is just 16, and after making an appearance on the final day of last season against Wolverhampton Wanderers, the diminutive midfielder started for the first time against Charlton.
Fans have now taken to Twitter to hail Mumba, suggesting that he has a huge future ahead of him and could become the next N’Golo Kante, praising his maturity and professionalism at such a young age.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
