Lee Johnson delivers verdict on Tranmere draw and how Sunderland's youngsters fared

Only a handful of senior players featured as the Black Cats drew 0-0 at Prenton Park, with the matchday squad mostly featuring U23 players.

The Black Cats head coach was impressed with the way the group understood the gameplan, and said many showed they can compete at that level.

"I enjoyed it," he said.

"It was a really good experience for the young lads, playing in front of a bit of a crowd against a good side that will be up there in League Two.

"They've got some scars and battle wounds in there which you maybe don't quite get in U23 football.

"The young players showed they understand the philosophy, a couple of times we caused ourselves problems on the ball but generally we tried to play and do the right things.

"There were some good performances.

"I'm coming away from it pretty happy, with twelve or thirteen players at home looking strong.

"The youngsters stood up to it and it's almost about proving to themselves that they can do that.

"Listen, I didn't think everyone was amazing tonight, so I'm not looking at it through rose-tinted glasses.

"But we were really solid, gave maximum effort, and it was a good, competitive game.

"If I was a scout for a League Two team tonight, there are five or six who I'd be knocking on the door asking if I could have that on loan."

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