NEWCASTLE: Alnwick, Abeid, Ferguson, Newton, Richardson (Moyo 69), Good, Ameobi, Gosling, Campbell, Inman, Hooper. Subs not used: J Mitchell, Nicholson, Riley, Maddison.
SUNDERLAND: Pickford, Laing, Adams, Reed, Egan, Kilgallon, Ji, Vaughan, Saha, Wickham (Laidler 60), Knott (Mitchell 83). Subs not used: Dixon, Ferguson, Marrs. Booked: Vaughan (62)
Attendance: 1,776
Newcastle’s Under-21s were held by the Mackems last night in a 2-2 draw..
Former Toon loan striker Louis Saha completed the 90 minutes.
O’Neill will have been encouraged by Saha’s classy hold-up play, yet the Frenchman’s finishing was poor.
Of Saha’s supporting cast, Wickham helped himself to two tap-ins and spurned a golden opportunity for a hat-trick moments before he was withdrawn from the action.
Sunderland took the lead in the eighth minute when Knott was allowed in behind right-back Mehdi Abeid on the left-hand touchline.
Knott crossed low across the face and with stopper Jak Alnwick stranded, Wickham tapped into the empty net from a yard out.
But it proved to be a false dawn.
Too often in the first half, Sunderland were sloppy with their passing and failed to match the physical or attacking intensity of their younger hosts.
In contrast, Newcastle looked sharp going forward.
Diminutive central striker Adam Campbell justified the hype with his slick movement and control, while Sammy Ameobi occupied Sunderland left-back Blair Adams on the right for the whole encounter.
Sunderland’s advantage only lasted until the 16th minute after a clanger from England under-19 stopper Jordan Pickford gifted Newcastle the leveller.
Pickford seemed to have Campbell’s pull-back from the right in his grasp, but then spilled it straight into the path of Brad Inman, who turned it into the empty net.
Newcastle took the lead in the 35th minute and again it was a soft goal conceded by the visitors.
Campbell made a yard on Louis Laing to the left of goal, just outside the area, and let fly with a relatively timid shot.
But the ball deflected off the thigh of John Egan, bounced against the near post before bobbling along the line and into the net.
The Magpies went close to a third when Gosling sent an inch-perfect through-ball in behind the Newcastle defence for Campbell to chase onto.
Campbell had just Pickford to beat as he bore down on goal from the left, but his shot towards the far corner was superbly palmed away by the Sunderland keeper.
Laing played Ji in behind Shane Ferguson down the right and the South Korean delivered a low ball across the face for Wickham to again tap into an empty net from a yard or so.
Wickham spurned a golden opportunity for a hat-trick just before his withdrawal, when he was played in on goal by Saha.
But the ex-Ipswich man’s chances of a treble were spurned by his poor control, a heavy second touch seeing the ball roll harmlessly into the arms of Alnwick.
Campbell took turns to miss a one-on-one at the other end in the 63rd minute when Egan slipped midway inside his own half and left the Newcastle striker with just Pickford to beat.
But the Sunderland stopper stood up well and double-parried away Campbell’s shot towards the near post.