After Sunderland were brought back down to Earth with a 4-0 loss at the weekend against Portsmouth, The Black Cats secured all three points against Lincoln City in the Football League Trophy. 

Dan Neil opened the scoring for the visitors inside two minutes, with Stephen Wearne adding a second with 73 minutes on the clock. 

Lewis Montsma pulled a goal back in the fourth minute of stoppage time for the hosts, but it just proved to be a consolation strike. 

Naming a team full of fringe players, Lee Johnson selected a mix of youth and experience for the clash with The Imps. 

 

 

Neil, who despite being involved quite heavily with the first team this season, is still only 19 years old, and he was given another opportunity to impress Johnson. 

In what was a performance that The Chronicle has described as "outstanding all evening," Neil scored the first goal and played a major role in the second too. 

Progressing rapidly with The Black Cats, the young midfielder is proving to be an integral part of Johnson's side, and whilst he is still in his teenage years, he has a lot of desirable attributes that could mean he can remain heavily involved this season.

Here, we take a look at how some Sunderland fans have reacted to Neil's performance last night...