Sunderland vs West Brom match report: Black Cats and Baggies fire blanks in draw that does doesn't do either team any favours

Sunderland 0 West Bromwich Albion 0

(Getty Images)

There must be times when Roy Hodgson wonders why he bothers. Eleven Englishmen started at the Stadium of Light, among them a young centre forward with genuine international ambitions and another in the twilight of his career, still eager to rekindle the flame.

Neither Saido Berahino nor Jermain Defoe even mustered a shot on target. The rest of Hodgson’s fellow Englishmen contributed only in ensuring another dire afternoon in Sunderland. There have been eight goalless draws this season involving Sunderland. They have failed to score in 14 games and they managed just two shots on target against West Bromwich Albion yesterday, one in each half.

In first-half injury time Seb Larsson shot from distance and Ben Foster did well with a save to his left. With 13 minutes left, Adam Johnson’s corner from the right was headed goalwards by the substitute Connor Wickham and again Foster saved well.

John O'Shea wins a header in front of Brown Ideye (Getty Images)

There were only two further incidents of note. After five minutes a Lee Cattermole through ball sent Danny Graham scampering behind Joleon Lescott. Graham went down under the slightest of contact and the referee Mike Jones waved play on. His assistant gave a foul and there were optimistic shouts for a red card.

Graham did not have control of the ball, it looked like it would have reached Foster regardless and Gareth McAuley was in a covering position.

Still, there were calls for a dismissal, later swatted aside by Tony Pulis. “I’ve seen old women in the high street take more of a knock and stay on their feet than that lad,” said the West Bromwich manager. “It was not a free-kick, never mind Joleon getting booked.”

The Sunderland manager Gus Poyet disagreed: “From where I was it looked like a foul because he went across,” he said. “Then I look at the ref first and he say no. Then I saw the linesman behind him flagging and in my book if you give the foul, you send him off. The red card is an easy decision.”

It is a troubled period for Poyet, who added: “It is a case of trying everything and not get nothing really. The performance, the desire, commitment and going for it was spot on. We needed a break, an action, a finish, a goal, a lucky goal or a right decision from the referee. You say in England it wasn’t to be. It was written in history as a nil nil.”

Pulis has now lost one in nine since he took over. He added: “We’ve got 12 games to go and we have to glean as many points as we can. Everybody’s fighting for their lives. I’ve done this a few times and you can never take you’re foot off the pedal.”

Sunderland: (4-2-3-1) Pantilimon; Vergini (Van Annholt, 88), O’Shea, Brown, Reveillere; Cattermole, Larsson; Alvarez (Fletcher, 68), Graham (Wickham, 68), Johnson; Defoe.

WBA: (4-4-2) Foster; Dawson, McAuley, Lescott, Brunt; Morrison (Baird, 73), Jacob, Fletcher, Gardner (McManaman, 88); Berahino, Ideye.

Referee: Mike Jones.

Man of the match: Larsson (Sunderland)

Match rating: 2/10