Elliott Dickman has admitted his side were dealt a harsh lesson at Sunday’s Premier League 2 fixture with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Sunderland under-23s looked to have done enough to earn a point against high-flying Wolves at Eppeton Colliery Welfare over the weekend, but a late deflected strike from Oscar Buur handed the visitors all three points.
It was cruel on the young Black Cats, who were made to rue a guilt-edge chance from Swedish youth international Benji Kimpioka as he failed to turn home when he went through one-on-one.
“I thought we were terrific and showed a tremendous attitude towards the game,” Dickman said.
“Our shape was excellent and our application to the game was exactly how it should be and how it needs to be on a regular basis.
“There were lots of positives in the game, but the only down side is that we’ve lost again.
“It was a very cruel goal to lose the game with. I didn’t think we deserved to lose the game, despite being up against a very good side.
“I thought we restricted them to very few chances and had one big one ourselves,” he continued.
“But there were a lot of positives to take from our performance, because we saw improves and we can see that they are taking on board everything we’re saying.
“Hopefully that will help them to improve as individuals and as a team.”
