Dan Neil and Leo Hjelde react to Sunderland man's 12-word Instagram post after Championship debut
The 20-year-old Academy of Light graduate earned his first minutes in the Championship against Sheffield Wednesday
Sunderland youngster Harrison Jones has reacted after picking up his first minutes in the Championship against Sheffield Wednesday.
The 20-year-old Wearside-born midfielder was brought on by head coach Régis Le Bris with four minutes of added time to go at Hillsborough as Sunderland looked to preserve their 2-1 lead away from home in the Championship.
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The appearance marked the Academy of Light graduate’s first league minutes in a Sunderland shirt after making several matchday squads this season. Jones made his first-team debut off the bench against Preston North End in the Carabao Cup earlier in 2024-25 and was handed his first start for the club against Stoke City in the FA Cup earlier this year.
Taking to Instagram after the game, Jones wrote: “First mins in the champ and another important win on the road.’ Dan Neil was quick to respond, commenting, “Congrats mate,” accompanied by a heart emoji as Leo Hjelde wrote, “Love it” in response to the post.
Sunderland head coach Le Bris also praised his substitutes following the game, including Jones, for their role in seeing out the game late on at Hillsborough in the Championship against Danny Rohl’s Sheffield Wednesday on Friday night.
“It was very important to refresh the team because most of the players have played many games,” Le Bris said. “The depth of the squad is really important. We had four or five players able to play, and they deserved to have this opportunity. They played well.
"I think it was important to give some energy to the team. It wasn't easy to play football on this pitch, it was difficult for both teams. So it was more a question of energy, commitment and resilience. Even we conceded the equaliser, it was important to stay connected and find a solution to score. I think this was good news for us. We changed the structure at the end, we switched to a back five and our subs were really important, they gave us something else. We showed more maturity today.”