JAN KIRCHHOFF played himself in contention for Monday’s Premier League game with Everton as he completed the full 90 minutes of Sunderland’s Checkatrade Trophy draw at Rochdale.

Kirchhoff made it to the final whistle for the first time in a Sunderland shirt as the Black Cats’ academy team drew 1-1 at Spotland, before going down 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out.

The format of the new Checkatrade Trophy means Sunderland take one point from the game, with Rochdale claiming two, but David Moyes, who watched from the stands, will have been more interested in the performances of Kirchhoff and fellow first-teamer Jason Denayer.

Denayer made his first Sunderland appearance since completing a deadline-day move from Manchester City, while Kirchhoff proved his well-being after missing the first four games of the season because of a hamstring injury.

Moyes was forced to field Steven Pienaar and Jack Rodwell as his holding midfielders in the 1-1 draw at Southampton, but with the former more comfortable in an advanced position, Kirchhoff now looks certain to start when Sunderland return to top-flight action against Everton.

“He’s a good player, isn’t he,” said first-team coach Robbie Stockdale, who took charge of last night’s game. “I think to get over that hurdle of playing a full 90 minutes can only do him good.

“We’ll see how he is over the next couple of days – I imagine he’ll be quite stiff tomorrow – but it can only be a positive for the first team, and for Jan himself, that he’s got that game under his belt.”

Similarly, Denayer’s involvement was another positive development, with the Belgian centre-half having been a peripheral figure during the opening weeks of the season at Manchester City.

“He needed some game time, and that game was perfect for him,” said Stockdale. “I spoke to both of them individually before the game and said, ‘Don’t think of this as just another development-squad game – it’s going to be real’.

“I think you could tell from the way their bench was getting animated, it meant a lot to everyone. There’s a fantastic prize at the end of this tournament. We’re all in it to win it. Unfortunately we didn’t quite get it over the line tonight, but there’s enough positives to take through to the next game.”

Sunderland claimed the lead when 17-year-old midfielder Elliot Embleton curled home in the 51st minute, but Rochdale equalised when Ian Henderson prodded home from close range seven minutes later.

Dale, who are bottom of League One, struck the woodwork on two occasions, and triumphed on penalties when George Honeyman and Tommy Robson both missed spot-kicks for Sunderland.

“It felt like a real game,” said Stockdale, who has always been supportive of the Checkatrade Trophy’s new format. “It was our first step into the competition and I think the younger players will have learned a hell of a lot about what real football is from that.

“I don’t think they’ll have had to come across a physical nature like that in the development league. There were a lot of long balls they had to defend. Did they get it right all the time? No they didn’t. But that’s part of the learning curve.

“From our point of view going forward, the experience was fantastic. It gave a young group of players a chance to experience what this level is all about. We’re disappointed to lose the game on penalties, but that sort of thing happens, and the strange nature of the competition means we’re still off the mark.”