John Hewitson has praised the response of SAFC U21s as they registered their first points of the Premier League 2 season, by roaring to a 4-0 win at Derby County on Sunday.
Following the victory to get the youngsters off the mark, Interim U21 Head Coach Hewitson said of the performance: “It was the ideal response to last week against Aston Villa.
“We executed the gameplan well, winning the ball high up the pitch – and we certainly grew into the game to perform better in the second half.
“We’ll take the positives from today and continue to learn from our mistakes in previous games, as we move forward.”
Max Thompson stamped down his marker as a Sunderland player with a hat-trick in Derbyshire, whilst fellow new arrival Owen Robinson capped a fine display with a goal of his own.
Next up for the U21 group is a return to Eppleton next Monday against West Bromwich Albion.
“If we’re being critical it’s that we probably should’ve scored more on the day, but we’re really happy for the boys who have come in and made an impression,” said Hewitson.
“If you told us before the game we’d come here and win 4-0, we’d obviously have taken it all day.
“We stood up to the test in the aggressive manner we were looking for, in hot conditions, and that’s what we want to build on.”