Sunderland U21s were unable to maintain their unbeaten start to their Premier League International Cup campaign on Wednesday evening, losing 3-0 at the hands of Borussia Monchengladbach at the Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground.
The Black Cats recorded an impressive 2-2 draw against Athletic Bilbao at the Stadium of Light last week, but fell behind partway through the first half this time out after conceding a penalty. In the second half, two moments of lax play were punished efficiently by Monchengladbach, who opened up an insurmountable lead and kept Graeme Murty’s side at arm’s length for the remainder of the contest.
Speaking after the final whistle, the U21s coach said: “It's all really, really valuable experience and as we all know, all the way through our lives, learning can be painful. Learning is really, really hard. We have to make sure that we expose them to that pain and that hardship in a really safe way and a really supportive way and we make sure that we condition our responses to that to ensure that they take the lessons from it, not the emotion. That's our job as a support staff.
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“That's my job as the coach and also that, although it's going to seem really, really strange, that's their job as professional athletes. They have to be able to disassociate, at times, the learning from the pain. I believe we've got an environment that encourages that. This will be a really, really good test.” As always, plenty of supporters turned out to see Sunderland U21s in action on Wednesday evening, and with that in mind, here are 37 of the best fan photos. Check out our full gallery below...
37. Sunderland U21 fans
Sunderland U21 supporters saw their side slip to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Borussia Monchengladbach on Wednesday evening. | Frank Reid