Sunderland U14s vs Darlington

Sunderland U14s hosted Darlington at Ashbrooke Sports Club in a much anticipated semi-final clash. Sunderland had won the 2 previous meetings between the sides last season, however both games were very competitive, close affairs and the same was anticipated for this semi-final meeting.
The game kicked off with Darlington on the front foot and were putting Sunderland under a sustained period of pressure, but the Sunderland defence held firm and withstood it. Sunderland then grew into the match and were rewarded with an opening try from the captain Sonny Hopper. Louie Macari converted a fantastic conversion from the touchline to make it 7-0. From there, Sunderland grew stronger and went further ahead with tries from Lewis Saxton, Aiden Royal and Daniel Cassap taking the lead to 22-0 at half time.
The second half kicked off and Darlington again applied pressure from the onset and camped out for the majority of the second half inside the Sunderland half. Sunderland however held firm resolutely and the defence put a great shift in with tackle after tackle keeping an excellent Darlington side at bay. Darlington were rewarded through their endeavour and scored a try in the corner with 9 minutes of play remaining to take the score to 22-5. Darlington's attack continued to probe further at the Sunderland defence to reduce the score but despite conceding a number of penalties throughout the second half, the Sunderland defence again held firm and kept Darlington to their solitary try. The final whistle was sounded by the referee and Sunderland emerged victorious with a 22-5 victory to send the U14s through to their first final!
Overall an excellent victory against a very good Darlington side, who put Sunderland under a lot of pressure at times but the defence in particular were superb to keep the Darlington attack out. Sunderland's attack itself was ruthless in the first half by taking their opportunities with their 4 first half tries which helped secure the win.
Star player of the match went to the captain Sonny Hopper, who got Sunderland on the road to victory with the opening try and marshalled the side well to take the side through to the final.
Sunderland advance to the final and await the winners of the other semi-final to find out who their opponents are. Sunderland's next outing is an away trip to Tynedale.