Chris Allan has called for his team-mates to rekindle their ruthless edge ahead of Saturday’s match against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Last weekend saw Sunderland under-18s draw a blank in front of goal as Newcastle United earned a convincing 3-0 victory over their Tyne-Wear neighbours.
However, the general ebb and flow of the game was far from convincing from the Magpies as the young Black Cats enjoyed a large bulk of possession, fashioning more than enough chances to win the game themselves.
Nathan Harker came to the hosts’ rescue, producing a fine stop to deny Lee Connelly’s penalty but when Sunderland managed to get beyond the inspired Magpies stopper, the post, crossbar and offside flag came to Newcastle’s aid.
With no time to dwell on Saturday’s disappointment, though, Allan has told safc.com his team-mates must dust themselves down quickly and work towards making amends this weekend.
“We created a lot of chances in the first and second half and we looked like we were on top,” he said.
“We just weren’t clinical enough but it is good to see the work we have been putting in, in training is starting to rub off in game situations.
“As a team we are improving despite what the result may suggest.
“We were very unlucky but we kept going, we kept trying to get back into the match and in the end we just got caught out.”
He continued: “If we had taken our chances then it could’ve so easily have been a different outcome.”