Sunderland AFC Under-21's played out their second successive draw, playing out a goalless draw with Hearts U21's
Scottish stalemate
Coach Andy Welsh, was looking for a improvement from his side, after their 1-1 draw with local side Seaham, earlier in the week.
Their Scottish counterparts had been in pre-season training since June, which saw them take advantage of the early proceedings.
Hearts had several decent opportunities, and looked to be taking the lead, but goalkeeper James Talbot showed great reflexes to turn the effort away.
Hearts continued to dominate the majority of possession, but Sunderland arguably had the best opportunity of the game.
A set piece was whipped into the area which found the head of George Brady, but his header came back off the post and into the arms of the keeper.
The young Black Cats tried their efforts from distance as the game was coming to it's end, with Elliot Embleton and Andrew Nelson both trying, but couldn't change the scoreline.
Improvement needed
It is very much looking like a time of transition for the development squad, with a hosts of new faces coming in and leaving the squad, and after the Seaham draw, Andrew Nelson said they need time to gel.
He told safc.com: "“For the lads stepping up it's difficult because it's a completely different game of football at under-21 level" as you "have got to get used to the physical side " and believes the Seaham game was a "good eye opener for the lads to start off with."
Nelson concluded: "It is a new squad but it’s all about getting together, bonding and getting used to how each other play" and they "need to go again but just improve on what we achieved against Seaham" and "need to be a bit sharper with passing and decision making."