Plymouth Argyle boss delivered this honest verdict on Sunderland win

Plymouth Argyle boss Steven Schumacher praised his side for coming through a challenging start to both halves to take all three points against Sunderland on Saturday afternoon.

Plymouth secured their fifth home win of the season thanks to first half goals from Morgan Whittaker and Finn Azaz. Sunderland created a number of big chances at the start of both halves, but were unable to convert them.

"We knew coming into the game the strength of this Sunderland side, how good they are and how threatening the forward players are," Schumacher said. "There was so much quality in the young players on both teams and that's why I said during the week that there were going to be chances.

"Sunderland started the game incredibly well, incredibly fast. We had to dig in and stick together to get through that period and it was the same at the start of the second half, as well. Then we had our chances, we were clinical. I felt that if we could have taken one of those breaks that we had in the second half then it would have been a lot more relaxing, but that wasn't meant to be. To get a clean sheet was excellent.

"Morgan [Whittaker] is an incredibly talented player. He loves playing here and he's shown that he's one of the best players in the division. I'm pleased for him and everyone, because they've all put a shift in.

"I thought the whole backline was excellent, Joe Edwards was excellent against one of the best players in the Championship. Clarke got in a couple of times but I thought Joe did brilliantly against him."