The under 23s are now six points clear at the top of the Wearside League Second Division with a great 6-2 home win over Sunderland RCA Reserves on Saturday.

Steve Dawson, Jack Mortimer and Alfie Fawcett all scored two goals apiece to the delight of manager Grant Cuthbertson, who said; “Our performance resulted in lots of possession with very few chances in the final third due to a very strong RCA back line that defended extremely well. Our patience paid off and we took our chances when they came, especially from those that came off the bench and changed the outcome.

Every game this season the boys have opened the scoring first but this was a little different with RCA grabbing an early lead with a slight mishap at the back. The boys bounced back fast, keeping the ball well and Steve Dawson broke down the wing, beat his man and finished smart near post for 1-1. Quakers continued to absolutely dominate possession, pressing high and forcing Sunderland to play long balls out only for our boys to win it back and continue pushing it up the pitch.

Jack Mortimer won a free kick edge of the box and took it, absolute whip and dip into the top corner for an unreal strike and 2-1. Right on the cusp of half-time and Mortimer showed he can pick a pass too, curving a ball into Dawson who got behind the defense, 1v1 round the keeper and finished calmly. 3-1 up at the break and a really impressive three goals from Darlo u23s.

Only one change at half-time with Alfie Fawcett coming on for Owen Smith on the right flank, a sub that didn’t take long to have an impact as a Will Maddison pass broke through lines brilliantly into Alfie Fawcett who tucked away calmly only two minutes into the second half. One thing we’ve quickly learnt this season is this boy loves screamers and it was only 10 minutes later when his left foot finessed the ball from outside the box into the top corner, class goal and 5-1 Darlo.

RCA served a reply scoring their second from kickoff, probably a lack of concentration from the boys feeling like the game was put to bed but important we weed out those mistakes as a team. The boys got their heads back and continued to dominate the game, the final goal coming from a blazing Maddo run and cut back to Mortimer for 6-2. A professional possession and offense performance with a couple little quibbles to put right on the training pitch. Three points and Darlo u23s stay top of the league.

Team:

1 Liam Mason 2 Ethan Cuthbertson 3 Owen Harvey, 4 Thomas Southwood, 5 Dylan Helliwell, 6 Oliver Walters, 7 Jack Mortimer, 8 Will Maddison, 9 Matthiew Kirokiro, 10, Owen Smith, 11 Stevie Dawson

Subs:
12. Kayne Williams 14. Jake Patterson 15. Sam booth 16. Alfie Robinson 18. Alfie Fawcett