How Jewison Bennette fared on his first Sunderland start in FA Cup win over Shrewsbury Town

There would, then, have been a different feel when the 18-year-old made his first Black Cats start at The Montgomery Waters Meadow Stadium, completing 59 minutes for Tony Mowbray’s side in a 2-1 win.

Bennette is clearly an exciting - while still very raw - talent, as he demonstrated by coming off the bench to score a dramatic equaliser at Watford back in September.

Yet there will be afternoons, like at Shrewsbury, when the teenager finds it tougher to make a decisive impact against deep-lying, physical opponents on a bobbly pitch.

Bennette still showed flashes of what he’s capable of and should also learn from the experience, four and a half months after moving to Wearside from Costa Rican side Herediano,

Starting on the left flank, the pacy winger looked lively in spells, particularly when made a quick burst down the channel midway through the first half but no one was on hand to convert his dinked cross.

After Mowbray elected not to risk top scorer Ross Stewart from the start, the visitors were left without a natural striker in their side, providing more challenges for the team’s other attacking players.

Bennette was able to provide some natural width, though, and looked like he was playing as a wing-back when Sunderland were in possession, with Trai Hume advancing on the opposite flank to leave Luke O’Nien, Bailey Wright and Daniel Ballard as a back three.

And with Shrewsbury content to sit back after applying some early pressure, there wasn’t much defensive work for Sunderland’s wide players to worry about, even if Bennette was keen to get stuck in.

Opportunities in the Championship will be harder to come by for Bennette, with the likes of Patrick Roberts, Amad and Jack Clarke, who replaced the Costa Rican in the second half at Shrewsbury, representing more established options.

Still, after signing a four-year deal, with a club option of a further year, it’s clear Bennette is seen as a long-term asset who is still acclimatising to life on Wearside.

His World Cup experience will have been a valuable one and, in a different way, the win at Shrewsbury should have been too.