Pierre Ekwah will benefit from being thrown in at the deep end for the first senior start of his career, according to Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray. The January signing from West Ham was handed his first start in Friday night's game against runaway Championship leaders Burnley, with the Black Cats coming away from Turf Moor with a deserved point from the goalless draw.
Ekwah had made ten appearances from the bench - including eight in the league - for Sunderland, but it was a different challenge altogether to start and complete 65 minutes against the best team in the division and the the 21-year-old midfielder acquitted himself well. Mowbray said: "People need experience, otherwise how do you ever get up to speed?
"Pierre has now played in a game against the top team in the league, and it'll be an amazing experience for him. I've been saying to him from day one that he has to get up to speed.
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"He's been playing U23s football all his life. He's never played a first-team game really, so here we go, playing against men whose life depends on winning football matches.
"That's a big difference from the U23s, where you get told to stand in a position and play to A or B or C. He was in the middle of a proper football match on Friday night, with men.
"It'll have been a good experience for him."
With Sunderland having only an outside chance of making the play-offs, and in no danger of being sucked into the relegation battle, Mowbray has said he will give some of his young players a larger role in the run-in and Ekwah's inclusion was the first step in that direction. Ekwah came into the side in place of Edouard Michut, who had been away on international duty with the France U19 side and had only returned on the eve of the Burnley game.
Mowbray now has a decision to make over whether to stick with Ekwah when Hull City visit the Stadium of Light on Friday, or restore Michut to the side.
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