The Black Cats attacker, 18, scored a sumptuous free kick against Stoke in the Premier League Cup.
Sunderland Under-23s have qualified for the latter stages of the Premier League Cup but have had to settle for second place in Group A following a 3-1 defeat to Stoke City Under-23s.
Monday night’s game took place at Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground but things did not go to plan for the Black Cats as the Potters struck twice in the opening 45 minutes.
Jake Dunwoody opened the scoring when he received Tre Pemberton’s pass, took a touch and swept the ball beyond the reach of goalkeeper Max Strjyek.
Stoke then doubled their advantage through Gabriel Kyeremateng, who turned home a near-post volley from close range from Thibaud Verlinen’s delivery.
There was one moment of joy for the Sunderland faithful in the second half, however, when Benji Kimpioka curled a sumptuous free kick into the back of the visitors’ net.
Things would sadly turn sour for the hosts in the latter stages of the game as Lee Connelly was sent off and Verlinen then weighed in with a late third for the Staffordshire outfit.
Despite the loss, Kimpioka’s set piece was a thing of beauty and the Sunderland Twitter account eagerly tweeted the clip:
Some Black Cats faithful took to the social media platform and the reaction was largely positive, with some calling for the 18-year-old to be drafted into the first team:
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