Sunderland boss Jack Ross has heaped praise on the young duo of Jack Diamond and Lee Connelly, both of whom he believes add quality to the team on the pitch.
The players, who feature regularly for the Under-23 side, were handed their senior debuts in the same match as the Black Cats defeated League Two outfit Carlisle United 3-1 to ensure progress in the EFL Trophy.
18-year-old Diamond came on as a substitute in the 79th minute of the match to replace Aiden McGeady and counted himself unlucky not to find the back of the net.
Another teenager, Connelly, was introduced eight minutes later as he replaced his Under-23 team-mate Benjamin Kimpioka, who had scored the opener in the match.
Heaping praise on youngster Diamond, the 42-year-old Sunderland manager said that he has been feeding information to the young striker during his Under-23 games and it was good to see him take all that on board.
“We had to see how the game panned out, but Jack Diamond is a good player and he showed that in his time on the pitch", Ross was quoted as saying by Chronicle Live.
“He has a really good ability to take the ball on the half-turn and go forward and he drifts past people.
“There are always things you can improve on and we’ve been feeding information to him and in the U23 games I have watched recently, you can see he has taken it on board.
“It was a fitting reward for him."
On Connelly, Ross added: “Lee has an infectious way of playing, the energy he provides on the pitch is great.
“He is a very young man still.”
The Black Cats will now enjoy the international break and will be back with a match against Shrewsbury Town on 20th October.
