Sunderland were forced to a 1-1 draw at Millwall after conceding in stoppage time. Despite this, Régis Le Bris was satisfied with his reshuffled side’s performance throughout the game. Sunderland appeared to have secured three fantastic points at The Den thanks to Aaron Connolly’s first-time volley, despite the head coach having to make six substitutions owing to injuries. Substitute Milan Aleksic was inches close from increasing Sunderland’s lead in stoppage time, and Femi Azeez scored on the break shortly after.
Le Bris said that his team has plenty to work on after a difficult second half in which Millwall dominated, but he believes those that stepped in shown their worth. “I liked the first half especially with such a young team and in such a tough place to play,” Le Bris claimed. “We certainly could have scored one more goal because we had so many opportunities to capitalize. The second half was more challenging because they used direct play, which they had mastered. They are really good with second balls and will build around your box.
We dominated the first contact, but we struggled with the second ball and escaping the pressure. We did it at times and had plenty of opportunities to reply. We could have scored a second goal, but we didn’t, and it became a little more hectic. This is something we need to work on because even when the opponent had a lot of momentum, we could have changed the dynamic with the ball. We can enhance our maturity and fearlessness in this area.
“It’s difficult to swallow, but they deserved to score in the second half. Overall, I believe we deserved a point. I felt confident with the starting lineup, but you have to see it on the pitch, and they demonstrated their ability to play and contribute to the club.”This is great for us. At the academy, we believed these choices may benefit us, and it was encouraging to see them on the field.” Sunderland return to action at home against West Brom on Tuesday night.
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