MIDDLESBROUGH’S Under-21’s came out on top against Sunderland Under-21’s winning 2-0 at Bishop Auckland.

Goals in either half from Calum Kavanagh and Hayden Hackney sealed the points in Premier League 2.

The Black Cats fielded a number of first-team players who had been short of game time this season including Bailey Wright, Alex Bass and Leon Dajaku. Meanwhile, Edouard Michut was handed a start after recovering from recent injury.

However, the Black Cats weren’t able to take anything away from the game as Mark Tinkler’s youngsters came out on top.

Kavanagh has recently put pen-to-paper on a new three year contract at the club whilst Hackney has featured in the first-team squad on a number of occasions but has been an unused substitute.

Both Boro and Sunderland return to the domestic schedule next week when they face Coventry City and Preston North End respectively.