JACK ROSS praised Sunderland’s academy set-up after the club’s young guns fired Sunderland to the brink of the knockout stages of the Checkatrade Trophy.

The Black Cats need a point from their final group game at Morecambe to be assured of a place in the next round after goals from Benjamin Kimpioka, Ethan Robson and George Honeyman secured a 3-1 win over Carlisle United at the Stadium of Light.

All three of last night’s goalscorers progressed through Sunderland’s youth ranks, and with Josh Maja having made a superb start to the season in League One, the club’s academy set-up is playing a major role in Ross’ ongoing rebuilding job.

As if to underline the point, Kimpioka was one of three players making their senior debut last night, with teenagers Jack Diamond and Lee Connelly coming off the bench in the second half.

“It was a good night for us,” said the Sunderland boss, who can look forward to a rare blank weekend with his side’s game with Blackpool having been postponed because of international call-ups.

“We wanted to win and we did that, and it’s another positive for the club that the goalscorers have progressed through the academy.

“For the three lads making their debut – Benji starting and the two who came on – you can never predict how their career is going to go, but I would hope for all three this is just the start.

“It could be the pinnacle, which I don’t mean in a negative manner, you just don't know. So for all three, they'll look back on this with pride, to be part of the first team and contribute to a win.

“I'm delighted for them, and it’s reflective of the work that goes on in the academy. It's important to stress that you shouldn't be judged on Under-23 results, you should be judged on the number of players you produce for the first team.

“The academy has a good track record of doing that, and it’s continuing to do that. From what I’ve seen, it’s going to keep doing that in the future as well.”

Robson was forced off shortly after scoring his goal, but Ross is confident the midfielder’s injury is only minor and he should be available when Sunderland return to action at Shrewsbury Town a week on Saturday.

The 21-year-old forced his way into the first team under Chris Coleman last season, but has found senior starts much harder to come by this term.

His only two senior outings under Ross have come in the Checkatrade Trophy, but the Sunderland boss claims his lack of involvement has been a result of circumstance rather than design.

“He’s a good player, I really like him,” said Ross. “I’m fond of him. He was very much in my plans pre-season, and would have started the season against Charlton if he’d been fit.

“It’s just the way it pans out. He’s found himself a bit behind some others, and it’s maybe dented his confidence a bit. We’ve worked hard with him, one-to-one, trying to build him up and the bits of his game he can tidy up. He wants to improve and he takes it on board, he wants to get better and play here.

“I said to him yesterday there was no pressure, just show you good you are, and he did that. I think the injury’s fairly minor. It was a combination of the impact from the tackle and him just twisting his ankle a bit. We don’t think it’s anything too serious.”