2017 Premier League 2: Sunderland U23s Steal Late Victory from Arsenal

Sunderland's under-23 side came from behind to grab a last-gasp 2-1 victory over Arsenal under-23s in a dramatic encounter at the Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground on Saturday.

Donyell Malen gave the Gunners the lead just before the hour mark, before Lynden Gooch restored parity 12 minutes later and set up an entertaining final 20 minutes.

And deep into the match, substitute Luke Molyneux scored with his first touch of the ball to propel the Black Cats up two places in the Group 1 table to sixth.

In Saturday's other match, Swansea City easily beat Stoke City 4-1. Here's a look at the results and standings:

Fixtures	Result
Sunderland vs. Arsenal	2-1
Stoke City vs. Swansea City	1-4

Group 1	Team	Played	Won	Drew	Lost	GD	Points
1.	Everton U23	21	15	3	3	47:19	48
2.	Manchester City U23	20	12	6	2	48:28	42
3.	Liverpool U23	20	11	4	5	42:24	37
4.	Arsenal U23	21	10	2	9	38:30	32
5.	Chelsea U23	21	7	9	5	39:30	30
6.	Sunderland U23	21	6	7	8	25:34	25
7.	Tottenham U23	20	6	4	10	30:37	22
8.	Manchester United U23	20	5	7	8	24:34	22
9.	Southampton U23	21	5	6	10	26:36	21
10.	Derby U23	21	5	6	10	29:41	21
11.	Leicester U23	20	4	7	9	25:39	19
12	Reading U23	20	5	3	12	31:52	18
Group 2	Team	Played	Won	Drew	Lost	GD	Points
1.	Swansea U23	22	17	1	4	43:22	52
2.	Wolves U23	21	11	5	5	38:29	38
3.	Newcastle Utd U23	22	11	4	7	34:30	37
4.	Fulham U23	21	10	3	8	38:29	33
5.	Blackburn U23	21	9	4	8	24:28	31
6.	West Ham U23	21	8	6	7	28:26	30
7.	Aston Villa U23	21	8	5	8	34:32	29
8.	Brighton U23	21	7	6	8	20:22	27
9.	West Brom U23	21	6	4	11	25:29	22
10.	Middlesbrough U23	22	5	6	11	25:34	21
11.	Stoke City U23	22	4	8	10	25:36	20
12	Norwich U23	21	4	4	13	18:35	16

Arsenal were looking for three points to keep up the pressure on third-place Liverpool in the Premier League 2 ladder, but they were no match for a spirited Sunderland in the second half.

It was the hosts who started much the better side in the early exchanges, with Rees Greenwood and Joel Asoro both having efforts smartly saved by Hugo Keto.

Gooch, too, was causing endless problems for the visitors and putting pressure on the Arsenal goal, but his efforts weren't rewarded as the first half ended goalless.

In the second period, Arsenal started to come alive and began demonstrating exactly why they're right up there in the Premier League 2 table. And it wasn't long before they got their reward.

After a flowing move, Malen slotted the ball home to give Elliott Dickman's side a mountain to climb with just over 30 minutes remaining.

However, all Malen's strike succeeded in doing was waking up Sunderland from their second-period slumber. The Black Cats were suddenly flowing like they were in the opening half and laying siege to Keto's goal.

On 68 minutes, they got what they deserved as Gooch found the back of the net with a low drive. Keto could have done better with the effort, but Sunderland weren't about to complain.

Both sides had chances to land a winner as the clock ticked towards the 90, including an Ainsley Maitland-Niles effort that went narrowly wide of Max Stryjek's post.

But with 87 minutes gone, a long Ethan Robson clearance was latched on to by the fresh legs of Molyneux, who scored with his first touch to hand Sunderland all three points.

The victory was nothing more than the hosts deserved, as they moved above Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United into sixth.

Following the match, game-winner Molyneux praised the spirit of his team-mates and enjoyed his moment in the spotlight:

Swansea have dominated Group 2 this season and continued their remarkable run with a 4-1 defeat of Stoke, taking their lead in the standings to 14 points.

Liam Cullen and Daniel James took care of the scoring for the Welsh side, who will be formidable foes in the Premier League 2's top division next season.