O'Donovan returned to action following a stomach tear injury

Having recovered from a stomach tear, the Irishman was delighted to start but felt the Black Cats were unfortunate to come away from the game with nothing.

"It's great to be back involved," the 22-year-old told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"The thing about teams like Chelsea is they're clinical. We had chances and didn't take them. We were unlucky."

Interview: Sunderland striker Roy O'Donovan

With eight games left to play, O'Donovan is confident the belief is within the players to stay in the Premier League.

We deserve more than fighting against relegation Sunderland striker Roy O'Donovan

"I think we've got a great bunch of lads, they've been full of confidence all season," he added.

"We've scored a lot of late equalisers and winners, we not doing too badly and we deserve more than fighting against relegation."

Sunderland lie two points above the relegation zone. They visit Aston Villa on Saturday.