‘Isaac asked to play for U21s – it shows his will to succeed’
Sunderland winger Isaac Lihadji asked to play for the club’s under-21s side against Derby County’s as he continues to adapt to life in England.
The 20-year-old Frenchman has made one Championship appearance off the bench since moving to Wearside on an initial two-and-ahalf-year contract from Lille in January.
Lihadji looked bright as he played 68 minutes for Sunderland’s under-21s side at Eppleton CW, with the game finishing 1-1 after Harry Gardiner’s second-half opener was cancelled out by Sonny Blu Lo-Everton’s 89th-minute equaliser.
When asked about Lihadji’s involvement after the match, Sunderland boss Graeme Murty told the Echo: “He needs minutes and needed to play.
“He was given the option by the manager and said yeah he wanted to come and play to get nice and sharp.
“It was brilliant having him, I’ve not really seen a great deal of him.
"I thought for the first 25 minutes their left-back was going to have a hard, hard time.
“He looks fantastic and comfortable with the ball, and as he starts to become more comfortable in our environment we’ll be able to communicate a little bit better with him.
“It really benefits our players to see that, not just the capacity and technical level, but also the desire to come and play and it’s a really positive affirmation for our players.”
This was the second consecutive match where Sunderland’s under-21s side have conceded a late equaliser, after letting a two-goal lead slip in a 2-2 draw at Southampton earlier this month.
“That’s two in two games now where we’ve deserved to win the game and come away with a point rather than three,” Murty added.
“As I’ve said to the players these are really, really valuable lessons in their careers moving forward.
“If they experience the frustration and the hurt from not getting what you think you deserve for the effort that you put in then you work that much harder to try and put it right.
“We take the lessons from it and make sure we reinforce the things that we did well because there were lots of things we did well.”
Sunderland had started the Premier League 2 Division 2 fixture on the front foot, with Lihadji producing a few neat touches and runs down the right.
The hosts then went close in the 12th minute when Caden Kelly’s cross found Gardiner in opposition’s box, yet the forward steered his effort over on the stretch.
Derby also had opportunities in a fairly even first half, with Osazee Agharise scooping an effort over the bar from inside the area.
Winger Kido Taylor-Hart, on loan from Arsenal, then hit the crossbar after cutting in from the right.
Sunderland’s best chance of the opening 45 minutes came five minutes before half-time when Gardiner was allowed to turn on the edge of the box and forced a low save from goalkeeper Harry Evans.
The hosts made a quick start to the second half and opened the scoring when Tom Watson’s right-footed cross from was controlled and converted by Gardiner inside the box.
But when the ball dropped to Lo-Everton following a late Derby corner, the forward converted with a side-footed finish from inside the box.