Harrison Jones described being made captain as a "true honour" after he led the Sunderland Under-21s to a 3-1 away victory over Leeds United in the Premier League 2.
"It was great, it’s not normally me but I was honoured to lead the boys out.
"It’s never easy coming away from home, I thought we were top class in the first half, and we knew they were going to respond in the second half.
"Although we could have done better, it was good to get the three points."
Timothée Pembélé assisted the midfielder to grab the opener on 16 minutes with a first-time finish past Harry Christy.
"It was my first one in a while, I made sure I was in the right areas, and we have been working on it in training all week, getting the ball to the full backs, and making sure I’m in the right position to finish the move."
Luca Thomas grabbed one back for the hosts at the start of the second half but the Black Cats stuck to their game plan and held on for all three points.
"We always try and play out no matter who we are playing against and ultimately, they could not deal with us and once we got in the right areas, we managed to pick out the right people and we were clinical in the box."
The U21s will next face Leicester City in the Premier League 2.