Elliott Dickman heralded his team’s dedication to stick to the game plan after they secured an impressive three points at Everton today.
Sunderland under-23s were up against it for large spells at Finch Farm on Friday but had James Talbot to thank as he expertly turned over Sam Lavery’s right-footed attempt from the edge of the box.
Last season’s Premier League 2 champions, Everton, were strong throughout with Anton Donkor providing bags of energy, but the lads did well to get a hold of the match and seized their moment with real vengeance.
A sweeping move down the right saw the ball slipped into Luke Molyneux’s on rushing path with five minutes left and the winger nestled his drilled attempt in the bottom corner to secure the lads’ second league win of the season.
Speaking to safc.com post-match, Dickman praised his players.
“In the first-half I thought we played some of the best football we have done all season,” he said.
“We moved the ball well and got into good positions – I was really pleased with what I saw because I didn't think they troubled us too much.
“There weren’t too many chances in the game but we kept ourselves in it and scored a good goal.
“We still need to tidy up on a few things, especially with a bit more care in and around the final third.
“After getting back on Tuesday morning from Arsenal at 4.30am we have done plenty of recovery work and there hasn’t been much time to train.”
He continued: “A lot of our work has been done by talking to the lads and it was good to see it come off.”
