Jack Diamond believes Sunderland under-18s showed they were more than a match for Premier League leaders Manchester City on Saturday.
With preparations underway at the Academy of Light ahead of this weekend’s Wear-Tees derby against Middlesbrough, Diamond has reflected on a frustrating afternoon at City.
Following a run of four games unbeaten for the young Cats ahead of kick-off, Lorenzo Gonzalez’s first-half brace saw the hosts upstage Elliott Dickman’s side before a valiant second 45 display saw his side leave with plenty of credibility.
While the lads were unable to take one of the few chances they created, Diamond lavished praise on his team-mates and urged for more of the same against Boro this Saturday.
“In the first-half we gave them a bit too much respect and tried to play too much,” he said.
“After the break we got tighter and made the game ugly - that allowed us to create some chances.
“We probably expected too much of them going into the game but we showed we could play as well and while they held a 2-0 lead at the break we kept going - create to the lads for doing that.
“Boro is another important game for us now because we want to get back to winning ways going into our FA Youth Cup match against Newcastle.”
