Elliott Dickman praised the character of his players to twice come from behind on Sunday to earn a hard fought point against Leicester City.
The under-23s lead coach did, however, share his frustrations over the manner which the Foxes forward Admiral Muskwe netted a brace.
Muskwe broke the deadlock inside five minutes, beating the offside trap and rounding Max Stryjek before Josh Maja levelled with an incisive chip in the 38th minute.
Leicester rallied at the start of the second period and regained their lead when Muskwe stabbed the ball past an on rushing Stryjek following a powerful run from defender Josh Knight.
But the Black Cats dug deep and with two minutes of normal time left to play, Ethan Robson was fouled inside the area and Maja made no mistake from 12 yards, sending Daniel Iversen the wrong way.
Speaking post-match Dickman delivered his overall assessment of the match.
“There was good character from the lads to come from behind twice,” he said.
“I’m pleased that we showed a bit of fight to want to get back into the game and I thought in the first-half we played some good stuff.
“The goal was a poor one to give away so early as well but the fact that we stuck at it and showed some character was pleasing.
“We played some good football and we tried to open them up and create some chances so as long as I can see positives like that then it is something to build on.”
He continued: “They are a tough team and they have got a way of playing.
“They have had a way of playing for a long time, it is their way of playing and you can only take your hat off to them because they make it really tough for you.”
