Beaglehole 'So Proud' Of Sunderland Success
- Leicester City's Development Squad beat Sunderland 2-1 at Stadium of Light on Tuesday
- The Foxes finish as winners of Northern Group A with eight points from three matches
- Coach Steve Beaglehole was delighted with the performance against a League 1 side
- Beaglehole also praised goalscorers George Hirst and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
After Chris Maguire's free-kick put a strong Black Cats side in front at Stadium of Light, a George Hirst penalty and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's rocket turned the match on its head after the break.
As a result, City's youngsters have secured top spot in Northern Group A, sealing safe passage to the knockout phase of the competition, above Scunthorpe United and Grimsby Town.
Reflecting on a fifth successive win for Leicester's Development Squad, Senior Professional Development Phase Coach Beaglehole told LCFC TV: "It was a pleasure to be involved tonight.
"[There was] 8,000 people here, [it was] quite hostile at times, and then [in the] second half, we quietened the crowd.
"I was so proud of the lads. We stuck to the game plan, 3-4-1-2, a shape which we’ve not played before this season, but we felt it would be the right shape to go with – and it worked well.
"We didn’t deserve to go in 1-0 down, but [in the] second half, some of the play going forwards was terrific."
Hirst overcame a high-pressure situation to net City's equaliser in the 50th minute from the penalty spot before Dewsbury-Hall completed the comeback with a fearsome drive three minutes later.
"I thought it showed great maturity from Hirsty (George Hirst), there was a lot of kidology going on," Beaglehole added. "They delayed him, he had to move the ball and then coolly slotted it away.
"We’ve said about how good he’s [Dewsbury-Hall] been on the ball and dictating in there with George Thomas, but we’ve kept saying: ‘We’d love to see you score one or two more goals’.
"Unbelievable strike! And then, you’re bound to come against it, pressure, here. I think they had the full side out, the strongest side, [Will] Grigg’s came on and the captain (Grant Leadbitter).
"So, they were tooled up all the way through with options on the bench to keep it strong or even stronger.
"We were very resilient, and it was one of those performances you feel really proud about. It’s a great result for our club again, following on from the great results the first team are having.
"It was a great example of how these players have developed since the start of the season. They’ve worked hard in training and their attitude’s been fantastic. You can see that they are improving."