Simon Grayson paid homage to his players' commitment and endeavour following their opening day draw against Derby County tonight.
- Report: Sunderland 1-1 Derby County
- Gallery: Action shots from the Stadium of Light
- As it happened: How the drama unfolded
Sunderland began life in the Sky Bet Championship this evening, eyeing an immediate return to the top-flight as Grayson started six of his seven new signings.
And he would’ve been pleased with the opening exchanges as new boys Lewis Grabban and Aiden McGeady went close early on, raising the roof in a high octane first 10 minutes.
But Derby dealt the hosts a cruel blow; Bradley Johnson ramming the ball home at the back post after Johnny Russell got the better of Brendan Galloway down the left flank.
Sunderland dusted themselves down though, and swiftly struck back through Grabban who confidently dispatched a penalty following a handball.
Grabban was then denied by the post in the second period before James Vaughan shaved the outside of the opposition post as the lads went in search of a winner that sadly, never came.
Speaking post-match, Grayson praised the attitude of his players.
“I’m really pleased because we were up against tough opposition,” he said.
“The basics we asked the players to do tonight were there for everybody to see. We had to work, chase and stop the opposition from playing and when we got the opportunities we played quite well.
“We passed it round quite well and their keeper made some exceptional saves but the biggest thing for me was when we conceded the first goal after such a strong start from us we didn’t crumble.
“We didn’t feel sorry for ourselves and we really dug deep and got back on the front foot.
“You are going to suffer goals and disappointment and we made sure before we went out that any disappointment on the pitch didn’t affect us.
“That’s what we did so I’m really pleased with the attitude and commitment of the players,” he continued.
“It was probably refreshing for the supporters to see today. We all go away quite happy, disappointed we didn’t win the game because if any team deserved to win it today it was us.”
