Colchester United's U15s fell to defeat in the final game of a memorable season for the U's youngsters in 2017/18.
The U's youngsters had flourished in the U15s Premier League Floodlit Cup and, having just missed out on the knockout stages, subsequently progressed to the final of the Shield.
They took on Sunderland in the big game on a sunny afternoon at Loughborough University.
After an evenly contested first quarter of the match, it was Sunderland who took the lead on 25 minutes, as the ball was cut back for a Black Cats forward to step onto and smash into the top corner.
Ten minutes later, a low shot from the edge of the box found the back of the net and Sunderland had a two goal lead to take into the second half.
The U's U15s successes this season have been built in some part on the resilience of the team and they went into the second half knowing they had fought back from two down against Southampton in the semi-final.
But Sunderland were not to let the U's back into the game, and extended their lead nine minutes after the restart.
And three became four with a low strike across the face of goal, to take the game away from the U's.
Despite the reverse on Sunday, it has been a productive season for the U15s whose campaign came to a close at the weekend.