The Sunderland youngsters who came in for special praise after Newcastle United win

Elliott Dickman received a congratulatory phone call from Phil Parkinson after overseing the U23s first league win since February 2019.
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The Black Cats ended their drought in spectacular fashion, running out 4-0 winners against local rivals Newcastle United.

Benji Kimpioka scored twice in his first game since signing a new contract at the club, while there were also goals for wing-back Cieran Dunne and attacking midfielder Josh Hawkes, who scored on his full debut after a summer move from Hartlepool United.

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The result was especially impressive as a number of the U23s senior players were not available ahead of Tuesday night’s EFL Trophy game against Carlisle United.

Josh Hawkes opens the scoring against Newcastle United U23sJosh Hawkes opens the scoring against Newcastle United U23s
Josh Hawkes opens the scoring against Newcastle United U23s

Dan Neil, Jack Diamond, Brandon Taylor and Jake Hackett were all left out of the squad.

As a result, Sunderland had actually tried to get the fixture moved, but were able to secure a crucial win.

Dickman paid tribute to a number of youngsters who stepped in and played their part.

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“Sam Wilding did a really good job in the middle breaking play up and he was well complimented by Stephen Wearne,” Dickman said.

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“I thought Josh Hawkes was excellent and he took his goal well. Hopefully he can keep that up now.

“Young Patrick Almond stepped in from the Under-18s and you’d think he’d played Under-23s football for a long time.

“I could name every single one of them, but today was very much a team effort and they all deserve huge credit.

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“The lads should take a lot of confidence from this – everyone is pulling in the right direction.

“Phil Parkinson was on the phone to me after the game and he’s delighted for the players, it’s great to see and it gives everyone a lift.

“It’s brilliant to get the win, and it’s obviously a bonus to do it against our local rivals.”

Dickman admitted that it had been a long wait for the three points, but paid tribute to the work ethic of his group as they seek to improve their recent record.

"I thought their work ethic and football was really good and we deserved to come out on top,” he said.