U21s: Aston Villa 2-3 Sunderland

Aston Villa succumbed to defeat against Sunderland in Premier League 2 on Friday night.

The Young Lions were dominant for large periods of the first half, taking the lead when Rico Richards converted a well-worked free-kick after ten minutes.

A second goal came courtesy of Josh Feeney’s towering header before the visitors pulled one back via Harry Gardiner on the stroke of half-time.

Gardiner produced a smart finish to level the scores just after the hour mark, and things got worse for the hosts when Frankie Ealing was shown a red card 12 minutes from time.

Sunderland’s comeback was complete in the final five minutes when Thomas Lavery fired a shot into the top corner.

Villa, who came into the game on a five-match unbeaten run, started with great authority and caused problems for their opponents from the off, with Teddy Rowe flashing a shot wide before Finley Munroe was denied by a smart stop from Adam Richardson.

But Sunderland couldn’t hold out for long and conceded in the tenth minute when a set-piece routine saw Tommi O’Reilly deliver a pass to the edge of the box, where an onrushing Richards hit a first-time shot in off the post.

The team in red and white stripes responded well in the immediate aftermath of the goal, testing James Wright, but the game quickly fell back into a pattern of Villa dominance.

A second goal duly arrived in the 21^st minute, again from a set-piece, as Feeney rose highest at the near post and flicked a header home from Rowe’s corner.

The game was almost exclusively being played in Sunderland’s half, but they broke out just after the half hour mark and should have scored when Gardiner slid a shot wide after being played through on goal.

Gardiner made amends with one of the final acts of the first half, tapping home Thomas Lavery’s drive across goal.

Sunderland began the second half keen to make more of an impression on the game, but it was the Young Lions who came close to extending their lead when O’Reilly fired narrowly over.

Villa’s No.10 was running the game, and he threatened again with a low drive that flicked off a defender and rolled inches wide.

Those missed chances came back to haunt the home team when Gardiner equalised on 63 minutes. The striker, running off the shoulder off the last defender, ran onto a through ball and placed it past James Wright.

The dynamic of the game had shifted with the scoreline as the away side took control, and they had a numerical advantage when Ealing was sent-off for a forceful tackle with 12 minutes to play.

Villa held out until the 86^th minute when Lavery fired into the top corner after being teed up by Tommy Watson to complete the comeback.