Elliott Dickman has lavished praise on Lee Connelly after the striker scored a hat-trick at Everton in the U18 Premier League on Saturday.
The young Black Cats produced a high-octane performance at Finch Farm and raced into a 4-1 lead as Connelly struck three times along with Brandon Taylor.
However, the hosts rallied back late on and earned a share of the spoiled as Sunderland surrendered their three-goal lead in an eight-goal thriller.
Speaking to safc.com Dickman hailed Connelly following his goalscoring antics but admitted a dark cloud overshadowed the performance.
“Some of our play was really, really good but we probably got carried away a little bit and some aspects of our game and performance let us down in the end,” he said.
“We had a 10 minute spell of craziness which really cost us but our overall performance was really pleasing and positive.
“We were delighted for Lee because he has worked hard in the last three or four weeks but the way that he finished his goals, especially for someone who hasn’t scored for a while, were top drawer.
“We are all really pleased his hard work has paid off and he has reaped the rewards.”
