The Black Cats boss made ten changes to his starting XI following Saturday’s defeat at Portsmouth, with promotion from League One clearly the priority this season.
In a squad which had a mixture of first-team and under-23 players, Denver Hume made his first competitive start of the season after recovering from a hamstring injury, while Dan Neil captained the side.
Under-23s players Kenton Richardson, Oliver Younger, Ellis Taylor, Harrison Sonha and Will Harris got a chance to impress.
Goals from Neil and substitute Stephen Wearne saw the Cats claim all three points in Northern Group F, ahead of a meeting with Manchester United Under-21s at the Stadium of Light next week.
Our chief SAFC writer Phil Smith has delivered his verdict on how each Black Cats player fared at the LNER Stadium.
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Under-23s players Kenton Richardson, Oliver Younger, Ellis Taylor, Harrison Sonha and Will Harris got a chance to impress.