Tony Mowbray says his decision to start Pierre Ekwah at Cardiff City was partially a show of faith in the youngster after his costly late error against Hull City in Sunderland's previous game. Ekwah came off the bench but the midfielder gave away an injury-time penalty against Hull, with the Tigers converting to earn a 4-4 draw in a wild Good Friday game on Wearside.
In the immediate aftermath, Mowbray put the mistake down to 'naivety' and inexperience, given that the 21-year-old had played just 160 minutes of senior league football in his career and had made his first league start only the week before in a goalless draw at Championship leaders - and now Premier League-bound - Burnley. But when Sunderland travelled to Cardiff on Easter Monday, Mowbray included Ekwah from the start and he responded with a mature performance as the Black Cats won 1-0 in South Wales.
Asked whether part of the reasoning behind starting Ekwah at Cardiff was as a public show of confidence in the January signing from West Ham, Mowbray said: "It was a bit of it. You have to support young players.
