Sunderland's ex-Liverpool youngster hits 23 goal contributions after stunning Everton hat-trick
Marcus Neill reached 23 goal contributions for Sunderland Under-18s with a hat-trick against Everton
Sunderland youngster Marcus Neill continued his impressive season with a hat-trick in the Under-18s’ 4-0 win over Everton at the Academy of Light.
The forward, who joined the Black Cats from Liverpool’s youth set-up in 2024, has now reached 23 direct goal contributions for the campaign. Neill has scored 16 goals and provided seven assists across 30 appearances in all competitions during an impressive season.
His return includes 10 goals and five assists in the U18 Premier League, one goal in Premier League 2, two goals and one assist in the Premier League Cup, two goals and one assist in the FA Youth Cup and a further goal in the Premier League International Cup.
Neill, son of former Premier League defender Lucas Neill, led the line as lead coach Fin Lynch made nine changes from the side beaten 3-1 at Blackburn Rovers at the weekend. Finlay Holcroft captained Sunderland, while Joe Cowan started in goal. Everton had chances to move ahead before the break, with Melvin Matos testing Cowan from distance before Holcroft produced an important goal-line clearance to deny Cieran Loney.
Sunderland improved after the interval and eventually took control just before the hour mark. Lewis Campbell released Arron Bowman down the left, and the full-back pulled the ball back for Neill, who finished past Xander Grieves to open the scoring.
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The striker doubled his tally five minutes later after Matty Burns’ effort deflected into his path, with Neill reacting sharply to lift his finish over the Everton goalkeeper. Alex Lienard then added Sunderland’s third in superb style after 69 minutes, curling a fine effort into the top corner from the edge of the area for his first goal for the club.
Neill completed his hat-trick in the closing stages, sliding a low finish into the bottom corner to round off a dominant second-half performance and seal Sunderland Under-18s’ third win in their last four league matches. The result moves Sunderland back in the right direction ahead of their final U18 Premier League fixture of the season, with Wolves due to visit the Academy of Light on Saturday morning.
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