We worked our socks off, says Sørensen

Ben Dawson’s side posted just their second ever victory in the competition in impressive manner at the Keepmoat Stadium, with frontman Sørensen wrapping things up with the last of their goals late on.

They had to soak up a fair amount of Doncaster pressure as well, however – particularly at the beginning of each half – with the League One side enjoying plenty of the ball in the attacking third.

But, as Sørensen acknowledged, United stood up to all that was thrown their way, with the young Dane admitting he was forced to adapt his own approach to help his side get off to a winning start in Group G.

“All the boys worked their socks off today, and in the end we’re coming away with the win, which is brilliant,” he told nufc.co.uk. “We worked very hard on our shape, and we just took the chances we had.

“To win is a massive achievement, after testing yourself against a League One side with a lot of big lads, and they’re a great team. It was very tough – as you could see, I was struggling to hold the ball up because they’re much bigger than me. Instead of trying to hold the ball up, I’d try and run in behind and do what they wouldn’t expect, but obviously it’s always nice to score and it was great to get the goal for the team at the end.”

With Luke Charman having moved to Accrington Stanley on loan, Sørensen has started the young Magpies’ last two games as a lone striker, and has since taken his tally for the season to four.

The teenager recognised that a chance has fallen his way in the wake of Charman’s departure, and – after defeats to Wolverhampton Wanderers and Reading in their last two games – spoke of his determination for United to build on Tuesday night’s impressive victory.

“Luke going on loan is a big opportunity for me to prove myself and show what I’m capable of,” he said.

“Ben’s always on about consistency and we’re trying our best every game. Obviously the game against Reading didn’t go as we wanted it to. Against Sunderland, it was a class performance, so hopefully we can keep the consistency going and pick up the win against Southampton after the international break.”