Brentford U21 ran riot against Sunderland U21 with a 5-1 victory in the Premier League 2 Division One regular season on Monday evening. The hosts opened the scoring almost immediately and never looked back, establishing themselves firmly in second place with six points from two matches. Sunderland, meanwhile, dropped further down the table and remain in ninth after their first defeat of the campaign.
K. Furo struck in the first minute and it set the tone for everything that followed. Brentford controlled possession at 55 per cent and created far more clear-cut opportunities than their visitors could handle. Sunderland had to make an early change through J. Dasilva in the 31st minute, a sign that they were already struggling to cope with the intensity.
The second half brought further punishment. F. Carvalho added a second in the 54th minute before C. Dinsdale made it 3-0 just three minutes later. Brentford then brought on B. Fredrick and L. Picotto at half-time, refreshing their attack for what was to come. Sunderland were forced into three changes in quick succession around the hour mark, but it was too little, too late.
Furo completed his brace in the 67th minute and then added a third in the 85th minute to draw a line under the contest. M. Klimas pulled one back for Sunderland in stoppage time, but the result was never in doubt. Brentford registered 10 shots on target compared to Sunderland's 4, and their dominance in attack was reflected in every aspect of the game.
The statistics tell a straightforward story. Brentford completed 83 attacks to Sunderland's 69, won 9 corners to 4, and forced 4 free kicks from their opponents. The visitors managed only 4 shots on target from 12 attempts overall, while Brentford hit the target 10 times from 15 efforts. Things came to a head late on with two yellow cards for Sunderland, including J. Jones in the 63rd minute.
What the result means is clear enough. Brentford sit top of the winning pile in Division One after beating Stoke City and Wycombe in their opening fixtures. Sunderland's defeat ends a run of two games without a loss and leaves them three points behind the leaders. The gap at the top is already opening up, and Brentford look the side to beat.
