Elliott Dickman hailed his sides showing at Stoke City on Monday as they earned themselves a well-deserved Premier League 2 point.
Despite being up against it in the opening stages of the match at Clayton Wood, Dickman’s men held firm to ensure they went in at the break level.
Jack Diamond then had appeals for a penalty dismissed before Benji Kimpioka got just too much on the ball as he lifted it over the on rushing Stoke stopper and the bar.
Chances continued to fall Sunderland’s way as the half wore on, and in the end Dickman was left to rue what might’ve been as his side failed to capitalise on one of their openings.
“The first 30 we were forced to defend well, and we made it difficult,” he said.
“After that I thought we did well and maybe did better than what we were given credit for because I thought we looked dangerous going forward.
“We created the best chances and we had three really good chances.
“It was a different kind of display, but we showed good discipline and to be fair to Stoke they were very good in the opening 30 minutes.
“Once we got to grips with dealing with their movement and their shape we were excellent.
“The one thing we didn’t do was get the goal were deserved so from my point of view, the staff and players we were really pleased with how we performed.”
