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Keith Hill had no complaints over the penalty which cost Wanderers their first league victory of the season.
Substitute defender Yoann Zouma was adjudged to have handballed as Aiden McGeady tried to thread the ball into the penalty box in the 90th minute. The Ireland international then secured a point from the spot to cancel out Jack Hobbs’ earlier effort.
French youngster Zouma was only on the pitch because Jake Wright picked up a hamstring injury – but speaking after the game, Hill said inexperience had played its part.
"[I have] No complaints in the decision but ‘don’t handball it.’ I don’t think the player would have got a shot off because there are players who are going to get across the line of the ball and even the goalkeeper,” he reasoned.
“It was a naïve, stupid decision. But Human League said: ‘Born to make mistakes.’ It is difficult for me to smile when the ramifications are so big on that silly decision.
“But he has to learn. If he doesn’t learn, he doesn’t play. And if he does learn quickly, he plays.”
Hill was pleased with the overall performance as his side continued to progress.
Dennis Politic hit the post in the first half and both Luke O’Nien and Tom Flanagan struck the woodwork in the second half for the visitors, who were backed by 4,000 travelling fans, Remi Matthews also made two superb saves late on to deny McGeady and Lynden Gooch before his resolve was finally punctured by the penalty.
"There is a tinge of the disappointment because of the score line,” Hill admitted.
"But an enormous amount of pride because the players who have come from no training, no games, no pre-season hardly, yet we look like a team that can eventually win football matches "From not losing football matches, looking organised in and out of possession to winning football matches and we were very close.
"I don’t want anyone to be disappointed. I want them to digest and realise that winning is hard work.
"There has to be more pain on the training pitch so we have to make those sacrifices so we can turn that type of performance into better fitness and make sure we win those games.”
Jack Ross had Sunderland fans chanting “you don’t know what you’re doing” midway through the second period after substituting Chris Maguire for Charlie Wyke.
But the Sunderland boss remained unperturbed by the criticism "It’s football it’s no problem. I am a 43-year-old man, I have been through a lot in life to earn the right to work and deal with things in family life.
“Trust me, it’s not a flippant remark because like every human being, criticism is not nice for any person, irrespective of what walk of life they are in. But the strength of character to deal with it is a different thing.
“Any criticism give it to me. That’s my job. You make decisions on how you think players are performing at the time. We then find an equaliser.
“Whether that justifies it I don’t know.”
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Substitute defender Yoann Zouma was adjudged to have handballed as Aiden McGeady tried to thread the ball into the penalty box in the 90th minute. The Ireland international then secured a point from the spot to cancel out Jack Hobbs’ earlier effort.
French youngster Zouma was only on the pitch because Jake Wright picked up a hamstring injury – but speaking after the game, Hill said inexperience had played its part.
"[I have] No complaints in the decision but ‘don’t handball it.’ I don’t think the player would have got a shot off because there are players who are going to get across the line of the ball and even the goalkeeper,” he reasoned.
“It was a naïve, stupid decision. But Human League said: ‘Born to make mistakes.’ It is difficult for me to smile when the ramifications are so big on that silly decision.
“But he has to learn. If he doesn’t learn, he doesn’t play. And if he does learn quickly, he plays.”
Hill was pleased with the overall performance as his side continued to progress.
Dennis Politic hit the post in the first half and both Luke O’Nien and Tom Flanagan struck the woodwork in the second half for the visitors, who were backed by 4,000 travelling fans, Remi Matthews also made two superb saves late on to deny McGeady and Lynden Gooch before his resolve was finally punctured by the penalty.
"There is a tinge of the disappointment because of the score line,” Hill admitted.
"But an enormous amount of pride because the players who have come from no training, no games, no pre-season hardly, yet we look like a team that can eventually win football matches "From not losing football matches, looking organised in and out of possession to winning football matches and we were very close.
"I don’t want anyone to be disappointed. I want them to digest and realise that winning is hard work.
"There has to be more pain on the training pitch so we have to make those sacrifices so we can turn that type of performance into better fitness and make sure we win those games.”
Jack Ross had Sunderland fans chanting “you don’t know what you’re doing” midway through the second period after substituting Chris Maguire for Charlie Wyke.
But the Sunderland boss remained unperturbed by the criticism "It’s football it’s no problem. I am a 43-year-old man, I have been through a lot in life to earn the right to work and deal with things in family life.
“Trust me, it’s not a flippant remark because like every human being, criticism is not nice for any person, irrespective of what walk of life they are in. But the strength of character to deal with it is a different thing.
“Any criticism give it to me. That’s my job. You make decisions on how you think players are performing at the time. We then find an equaliser.
“Whether that justifies it I don’t know.”
Source