Elliott Dickman has admitted Sunderland under-23s’ defeat to Burnley provides his players with a huge learning curve.
A spirited first-half comeback saw Rees Greenwood and Josh Maja struck as they turned their Premier League Cup tie on its head at Edgeley Park.
However, Daniel Agyei scored his second of the game in the 37th minute to draw the Claret’s level before Jimmy Dunne’s header snuck in on the stroke of half-time.
Burnley flew out the traps following the restart and added to the scoreline with Arlen Birch scoring a speculative effort and then a trialist sending a rasping 25 yard drive into the top corner.
Maja reduced the arrears late on from the penalty spot, but speaking to safc.com Dickman rued the manner of goals his side conceded.
“We had a great chance to make it 3-1 and they literally scored 10 seconds later so that’s disappointing,” he said.
“I’m frustrated with the way we have conceded the goals but I don’t want to take anything away from Burnley because I thought they made it a battling game.
“We came in at half-time 3-2 down and that should never have happened if I’m honest.”
He continued: “We couldn’t handle that so the important thing for us is that we dust ourselves down and look to be ready for another tough challenge on Thursday.
“There are goals there that are preventable from our point of view but at the same time we need to show more cutting edge and be more ruthless at the other end.”
