U23s: Sunderland 1-3 Aston Villa

Aston Villa staged a comeback to beat Sunderland in Premier League 2 on Monday night.

The Black Cats took the lead through former Villan Harrison Sohna before Brad Young levelled the scores ahead of half-time.

Hayden Lindley put Villa in front in the second half, with Indiana Vassilev wrapping up the win.

Goalkeeper Oliwier Zych saved a penalty in the final ten minutes to ensure a comfortable finish in the North East.

Sunderland sat second bottom at the start of the game, having lost four of their last five games, but they did take the bragging rights when the sides met earlier in the season.

Villa, without a win in four, started brightly and called goalkeeper Jacob Carney into action when Declan Frith shot after 12 minutes.

Sohna, who came through the youth ranks at Villa before joining the Black Cats last summer, had seen a shot blocked before he opened the scoring after 32 minutes.

The midfielder collected a pass from Ellis Taylor before sending a superb shot past Zych from 25 yards.

Mark Delaney’s side enjoyed 62% possession in the first 45 minutes as they imposed themselves, and they pulled level shortly before the break when Young brought the ball down and fired an effort in off the post.

The hosts came within inches of retaking the lead after 54 minutes when a trialist lobbed Zych, with his shot bouncing narrowly wide.

That near-miss triggered Villa to step up their game, and they went ahead when Lindley picked out the far corner.  

Striker Vassilev was thwarted by a stunning save from Carney, but the American wasn’t to be denied and he netted the third after 76 minutes, placing a left-footed shot past the Sunderland ‘keeper.

A response came swiftly from the home side, who were awarded a penalty when Nicky Gyimah drove into the box and was felled.

Tom Scott stepped up to take the spot kick, but he watched on as Zych guessed correctly and made the save on 81 minutes.

The Villa goalkeeper was called upon to make a couple more saves before the final whistle sounded, with his side savouring a well-earned three points at full-time.