10 Things We Learned From Darlington Vs. Sunderland
It's early, but there's still plenty to take away from pre-season.
Football returned to the North East on Thursday night as Sunderland fired their way to a 4-2 victory over Darlington 1883 in an entertaining game at Heritage Park. Emanuele Giaccherini inspired the victory with two goals, while Connor Wickham and Danny Graham also found their way onto the scoresheet as the Black Cats came from two goals down to win the game. Around 2,500 Sunderland fans soaked up the sun to enjoy the first of six pre-season games, with Dick Advocaat ready to lead his men across the Atlantic to face Sacramento Republic next week, before taking on Pachuca, and Jozy Altidore's new employers, Toronto FC. Sunderland will then return to the UK to face Doncaster, before a quick game against Hannover 96 in Germany, a week before the season gets underway with Leicester the first destination on the list. All of that must happen in under a month, meaning it will be a busy schedule for the Black Cats, and the players must quickly find their stride in order to be prepared for the season. Of course it's too early to know what shape Sunderland will be in by then, but there are still 10 things fans can take away from the pre-season opener...