Andy Welsh was left to rue a lapse in concentration as Cardiff City struck a last-gasp leveller to earn a draw in the Premier League Cup on Friday.
Sunderland were resolute throughout and weathered an intense onslaught early on as Rhys Abruzzese and Jordan Blaise fired over at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Chances continued to rain on the young Black Cats' goal but Max Stryjek made a string of fine stops before the post came to Sunderland’s aid as it denied Mark Harris.
Welsh’s side continued to plug away and snatched the lead on 76 minutes, Joel Asoro’s deft touch on Rees Greenwood’s thunderous strike looked to have sealed a narrow win for the lads.
But with just seconds left, Jamie Bird slammed home a decisive volley to beat Stryjek and ensure Sunderland made the long trip home with just a point.
Speaking post-match Welsh delivered his verdict.
“They are always tough games and I thought we defended better than we have done in the last couple of weeks,” he said.
“It was a competitive game and they were quite physical. They got the ball forward quickly and had a lot of runners in advanced areas so we had our hands full in the first half.
“We coped admirably and created one or two chances but at 0-0 I wasn’t too disappointed. In the second half we improved with our passing and we got up the field a lot more.”
He continued: “We took the lead with a super goal but we conceded with the last kick of the game and that was really disappointing.
“It was a bit frustrating but they will learn from it because it is all about development. The lads want to win every time they go out there but part of the lesson will be that we just need to tie that last 30 seconds up.”
