Andy Welsh has drawn on the positives following Sunderland under-23s opening day draw against Chelsea in the Premier League 2 on Sunday.
The young Black Cats raced out the blocks but were wasteful in an action packed first period which saw them carve out numerous clear cut opportunities.
Sunderland were a lot more patient in the second half and that paid dividends as Joel Asoro slammed the ball home on the hour mark after a goalkeeping error.
Dan Wright's misplaced back past though earned Chelsea a share of the spoils, but speaking post-match Welsh admitted he was pleased with his side's efforts.
"It was a difficult test because they have some quality players so they are always difficult games," he said. "In the first half I thought we were excellent and I was more than happy with our efforts.
"We looked sharp in the forward areas and we had good discipline when we didn't have the ball and we could've scored on a number of occasions.
"We were less effective in the second half, however, our desire, our shape, our discipline and our organisation kept us well in it," he continued.
"They had a lot of possession but it just so happened that they made a mistake which gifted us a goal, and obviously we made a mistake which gifted them a goal."
