Sunderland AFC suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Leeds United at Sports Illustrated Stadium as the Black Cats continued their pre-season tour of the United States.
Régis Le Bris welcomed back five players to his squad for the second of three Stateside tests, but Lukas Nmecha’s early strike proved enough to separate the sides in New Jersey.
The Whites made the breakthrough after eight minutes when Nmecha capitalised on a Sunderland turnover before sliding home a long-range effort beyond the backtracking Melker Ellborg.
The Black Cats responded well and almost found an immediate route back into the contest. Reinildo’s low cross picked out Brian Brobbey inside the area, but the Dutch forward could only see the ball glance off his standing leg and away from goal.
Enzo Le Fée and Romaine Mundle both threatened from distance as Sunderland continued to build momentum before the break, while Trai Hume’s deflected effort drifted narrowly wide after Brobbey had unsettled the Leeds defence.
Le Bris’ side carried that intensity into the second half and came close to levelling within minutes of the restart. Chris Rigg’s inviting delivery was met by Timur Tutierov, whose glancing header flashed just wide, before the Ukrainian created another opening with a dangerous cut-back that eventually led to Leo Hjelde seeing a strike go behind.
Leeds remained a threat, with Ellborg producing an excellent stop to deny Dan James, before Trey Ogunsuyi’s header and then Tutierov’s low strike called Alex Cairns into action late on.
The Lads now travel to Philadelphia to conclude their United States tour against Wrexham at Subaru Park on Sunday (12pm ET / 5pm BST).
Sunderland: Ellborg, Hume (Lightfoot, ’63), Ballard (Hjelde, ’45), O’Nien (Seelt, ’63), Reinildo (Jen.Jones, ’63), Mukiele (Proctor, ’63), Browne (Diarra, ’63), Rigg (Sadiki, ’63), Mundle (Angulo, ’45 / Ogunsuyi, ’84), Le Fée (Adingra, ’63), Brobbey (Tutierov ’37)
Sign up to our mailing list
Hear from us about the latest news, offers and much more.
Email address
Sign Up
Principal partners
Fanatics
hummel
Partners
Everyone Active
Lucozade Sport
Utilita Energy
AK Teaching