The vast potential and inexperience of Jay Matete showed during Sunderland's defeat by MK Dons

Like at AFC Wimbledon last weekend, the 21-year-old was deployed in a midfield three, this time alongside Dan Neil and Corry Evans, for the Black Cats’ 2-1 defeat by MK Dons.

Head coach Alex Neil was seen before the match having a lengthy chat with his midfield trio, and it was Evans who sat at the base in the engine room, with Matete and Neil operating as No 8s.

And, while Sunderland struggled to commit players forward and create goalscoring opportunities, Matete’s willingness to receive and drive forward with the ball stood out in the opening 45 minutes.

The young midfielder was fouled six times in the match as MK Dons’ players prevented Sunderland advancing up the field.

Matete also finished the fixture with a 86 per cent passing accuracy after completing 42 of 48 passes, completing seven of his eight passes into the final third (according to Wyscout).

After paying a significant six-figure sum for the midfielder, Sunderland clearly feel they have a player with vast potential – which he has shown glimpses of already.

Yet Matete’s inexperience also showed on another damaging afternoon for the Black Cats.

While operating with a 4-3-3 system, Neil clearly wants to play with his full-backs high up the pitch, with his centre-backs pushing up to support the play.

That can allow Sunderland to pin opponents back but can also leave them vulnerable on the break

While he encouraged players to pass the ball forward, Neil spoke afterwards about the need to be a bit more cautious when the counter attack was on.

For both goals it was Matete who was caught in possession, although he may have felt he was fouled by Troy Parrott for the opener, before Josh McEachran released Mo Eisa to score.

Then, for Connor Wickham’s winner, Matete played a loose sideways pass which allowed Parrott to pounce, leaving Sunderland short at the back.

Clearly the blame didn’t lie solely with Matete, yet the moments proved costly.

The midfielder should learn with more game time, yet Sunderland must cut out such costly errors to get their season back on track.

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