Ross Checks out young Cats stars
TRIO’S PROMISE SHOWS ACADEMY’S VALUE
SUNDERLAND’S Checkatrade Trophy win against Carlisle United was a triumph for the Black Cats’ academy, according to Jack Ross.
All three scorers in the 3-1 victory at the Stadium of Light – Benji Kimpioka, Ethan Robson and George Honeyman – came through the ranks on Wearside and their goals helped edge Sunderland to the brink of qualification for the knockout stage of the competition.
Kimpioka was making his first senior start, while youngsters Jack Diamond and Lee Connelly made their senior debuts from the bench.
With fellow homegrown players Josh Maja, Lynden Gooch, Denver Hume, Bali Mumba, Elliot Embleton and Luke Molyneux also featuring in the first team so far this season, Ross says the academy should be judged on how many players go on to be part of his senior squad rather than results at Under-23 level.
He said: “It is another positive for the club the three goalscorers have all progressed through the academy, albeit they are at different stages of their development.
“The thing with young players, and I include Benji who started in that, is you can never say how their careers will go.
“We hope this is just the start but this could be the pinnacle – and I don’t mean that in a negative way, you just do not know what will happen.
“Whatever happens, they can look back on tonight with pride because they have played in Sunderland’s first team and contributed to us winning the game.
“I am delighted for them and it is reflective of the work they do in the academy because I think it is important to stress it should not be judged on Under-23 results – the academy is judged on the number of players who come through to the first team.
“This club has a good record at that and it is continuing to do it at the moment and from what I have seen it will keep on in the future.”
Of Diamond and Connelly he added: “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.
“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 have been feeding information to him and in the Under-23 games I have watched recently, you can see he has taken it on board. It was a fitting reward for him.
“Lee has an infectious way of playing, the energy he provides on the pitch is great. He is a very young man still.”
Midfielder Robson has struggled with injury so far and was making his first appearance of the season, although his evening was cut short by an ankle problem on the stroke of half-time.
Ross said: “It was a combination of the impact of the tackle and he just twisted his ankle a wee bit.
“I don’t think it is anything serious.
“The fact we don’t have another game for 10 or 12 days will help and I am hoping he will be OK by the time the group comes back together properly next Monday.
“Ethan in particular I was pleased for because he has had a bit of a difficult, stop-start season to date.
“He was very much in my plans early on but then he suffered an injury late in pre-season and it has been hard for him to get going since.
“He would have more than likely started against Charlton on the opening day if he had been fit, but that is the way it pans out sometimes and now he finds himself behind some others, which has maybe dented his confidence a little bit.
“We have worked with him oneto-one and he wants to get better and he wants to play here.
“There is no pressure on him to prove anything, I just wanted him to take the opportunity to show how good he is and he did that and got his reward with the goal as well.”