Elliott Dickman praised his side’s desire to dig in when it mattered most against South Shields last night.
Sunderland under-23s were pushed all the way against the eye-catching Mariners, with goals from Ethan Robson, Tom Beadling and Own Gamble helping the lads over the line.
Robson dispatched a penalty on six minutes to give the lads the lead before Beadling drove home a low free-kick from 20 yards after Sunderland had done well to keep the Mariners at bay.
Carl Finnigan halved the deficit on 73 minutes to set-up a grandstand finish but the lads withheld the brunt of their attack and restored their two-goal cushion shortly before the end through second-half substitute Owen Gamble.
Speaking post-match Dickman delivered his verdict.
“I was really pleased and I thought the shape of our team was good,” he said.
“We made it difficult for South Shields and took our goals well. The first one was another penalty, we seem to be getting our fair share in pre-season so let’s hope we don’t use up all our luck before the season starts.
“But no, I’m really pleased with the commitment and the effort of the lads.
“I’m pleased with the performance from all of them and how we took each of our goals.
“I’m disappointed with the goals we conceded because it would’ve been nice to get a clean sheet.
“We probably deserved a clean sheet if I’m honest but I don’t want to take anything away from the lads because their commitment and desire to stick to the game plan was really, really good.”
