Barclays U21 Premier League 2015: Monday Scores, Results, Table, Latest Fixtures
Reading beat Sunderland 2-1 on Monday to book their first win of the Under-21 Premier League season and draw level on points with Division 1 joint-leaders Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton.
Later in the day, a strong Norwich City lineup got the better of Leicester City to win 2-0 at the Colney Training Centre in what was their first victory of the new season.
Meanwhile, West Bromwich Albion shot to the summit of Division 2 after beating West Ham United 2-1 and taking their record to two wins from two, while the Hammers started their campaign on a sour note.
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Elsewhere, new signing Adama Traore got his first minutes in Aston Villa colours as a Jack Grealish goal saw the Villans through to a 1-0 win over Derby County, thrusting them into the top places.
Read on for a roundup of all Monday's Under-21 Premier League entertainment, complete with the latest standings.
| 1 | Tottenham Hots… | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 4 |
| 2 | Southampton U21 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 4 |
| 3 | Reading U21 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 |
| 4 | Sunderland U21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 3 |
| 5 | Norwich City U21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | +0 | 3 |
| 6 | Chelsea U21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| 7 | Manchester Cit… | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 5 | +0 | 2 |
| 8 | Manchester Uni… | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 1 |
| 9 | Middlesbrough U21 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 1 |
| 10 | Leicester City U21 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 1 |
| 11 | Liverpool U21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 12 | Everton U21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 0 |
| 1 | West Bromwich … | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 |
| 2 | Aston Villa U21 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 |
| 3 | Stoke City U21 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 |
| 4 | Wolverhampton U21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 |
| 5 | Arsenal U21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 |
| 6 | Swansea City U21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | +0 | 3 |
| 7 | Derby County U21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 3 |
| 8 | Fulham U21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 3 |
| 9 | Blackburn Rove… | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 1 |
| 10 | Newcastle Unit… | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 1 |
| 11 | West Ham Unite… | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 |
| 12 | Brighton & Hov… | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
| Division 1 | ||
| Reading | 2-1 | Sunderland |
| Norwich City | 2-0 | Leicester City |
| Division 2 | ||
| Brighton and Hove Albion | 0-1 | Swansea City |
| Derby County | 0-1 | Aston Villa |
| Newcastle United | 1-1 | Blackburn Rovers |
| West Bromwich Albion | 2-1 | West Ham United |
Recap
After drawing 1-1 against Division 1 newcomers Middlesbrough in their opening fixture, Reading made their leap up the table order on Monday thanks to a satisfying 2-1 win over Sunderland.
The Black Cats saw their first defeat in 14 matches despite a terrific equaliser from youngster Lynden Gooch, but manager Robbie Stockdale felt his side deserved more, speaking to the official Sunderland website:
"We did enough to take something from the game and we dominated the second-half in terms of possession and territory, but Reading held out and good luck to them because they’re a very strong team.
Winning is a lovely habit to have although it was always going to end at some point, but lessons have been learnt and the challenge now is to go on another run.
"
The north-east outfit showed their academy ranks can be contenders after last season's fourth-place finish, but Reading's unbeaten start to the 2015-16 term suggests they could be considered dark horses this time around.
Then to the Colney Training Centre in Norfolk, where Sunderland's last opponents Norwich bounced back from that 3-1 loss to record a commanding 2-0 victory against Leicester City.
Norwich City's Ben Mouncer highlighted the senior players making the drop into the under-21s on Monday in a bid to strengthen their stakes for first-team involvement:
And Ricky van Wolfswinkel was rightly hyped as one to watch as he found himself among the scorers against the Foxes, along with Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe.
In Division 2, Kyle Howkins struck in the 88th minute to give West Brom an extremely valuable 2-1 win over West Ham, seeing the Baggies to the top of the standings following an edgy encounter. Speaking to West Brom's official website after the result, Howkins admitted it wasn't his team's proudest display:
"Of course I’m delighted to score the winner in a tight match.
I managed to peel round the back and collect the pass from Wardy, before rolling the ball into the back of the net.
It’s a nice win for us and obviously it is great to get another three points.
It wasn’t our best performance, we know we can do a lot better but we have the three points and that is the most important thing.
"
Last season's Young Player of the Year Adil Nabi opened the scoring for West Brom before Elliot Lee hit back to level matters from a Josh Cullen corner, but Howkins' last-gasp strike ensured the winning run endures.
After beating Blackburn Rovers 1-0 on opening day, Derby County were the other team in with a chance of rising to the top of the table on Monday, but a 1-0 loss at home to Villa saw that feat evade their grasp.
Fresh after completing his move from Barcelona, Traore was fielded in Villa's under-21s lineup, forming a fruitful front three alongside Carles Gil and sole scorer Grealish.
Aston Villa writer Jack Woodward was on hand to witness the three-man link-up work to great effect for Grealish's winner, with all three looking to feature in Tim Sherwood's first team as soon as possible:
Swansea City managed to get their season up and running with a 1-0 over Brighton and Hove Albion thanks to a 10th-minute header from Oliver McBurnie.
Brighton defender Adam Chicksen was sent off at the Amex, with Wales manager Chris Coleman looking on in the hopes he might spot some young talent, per the Swans' official Twitter account:
Finally, Newcastle United and Blackburn played to a 1-1 draw at Whitley Park after Jamie Sterry grabbed an equaliser for the hosts following Anton Forrester's opener for Rovers.
West Ham and Brighton remain the only teams in Division 2 who have yet to win a point, while West Brom stand as the biggest winners from Monday's drama as they extended their winning start to the term.
