Mark Atkinson had no qualms with his side’s dedication and commitment following the under-18s’ Wear-Tees draw at the Academy of Light.
The Black Cats fell behind in the first-half through Bilall Brahimi’s goal direct from a corner before Sam Greenwood’s 25-yard rocket drew them level in the second-half.
A late red card for Sunderland captain Jordan Hickey ensured a nervy final five minutes for Atkinson’s side but they held on to earn a hard-fought point – with the boss pointing out his players’ attitude as the main positive while saving praise for Greenwood’s wonder strike.
“I can’t question the attitude or commitment,” said Atkinson.
“There were just times where we wanted the quality to be better. I thought first-half we got into some good areas but everything was just a little bit rushed and erratic, and the second-half was fairly similar.
“Our attitude, commitment and dedication was first-class - we just needed to show more composure with the ball.
“To be fair to Sam [Greenwood], he works really hard on his shooting. He’s in most days for 20 or 30 minutes practicing his finishing so it doesn’t really surprise me when he comes up with quality goals like that.”
He continued: “It’s a strange one, playing someone then playing them again at the weekend.
"Again, we’ll make a few changes because it’s important to rotate the squad as we’ve had a lot of games in a short period of time, but we’ll go again on Saturday.”