What were the positives and negatives from Sunderland's draw with Preston?

Today at 01:00 AM

The Lads extended their unbeaten run to seven games but couldn't make the breakthrough at Deepdale. Our writers have their say on the game!

Chris Camm says…

We are top of the league… say we are top of the league!

You can't undermine the improvement in this Sunderland team just because of the last two results.

Top of the league at this stage is serious business and although there's a long way to go, you have to be happy with the improvement.

The effect of Millwall upon both Burnley and Leeds highlights not only their danger but how tough this division is.

Yes, the sides we've just drawn against are languishing at the bottom of the table, but they're still Championship sides and there isn't an easy game in this league.

Clean sheets are good

That's just that.

I think last season, Preston and QPR are games we would've lost. Everything frustrating about us going forwards had a very familiar ring to it, but we still managed to remain defensively solid and take a point away from home.

This is a marked improvement and a steely resolve we'll need if we are indeed promotion challengers this season.

Do we have enough strength in depth?

I was very happy to see Tommy Watson get a start and I strongly believe he has the talent to help this team and deserves more opportunities, so what I say next isn't about him.

We struggled in the first half with a slightly rotated side.

Jobe is a big miss, Aaron Connolly has yet to get going in a Sunderland shirt and Wilson Isidor can't be expected to carry the goalscoring burden alone. Our substitutes made a positive impact, which is reassuring, but it's a long old slog of a season.

We need our squad players to come in and really seize their opportunities. There are definitely going to be more opportunities for them but they simply have to make them count, otherwise January could be a pivotal month for us.

Two consecutive 0-0 draws

Yeah, that's fair enough.

Preston have struggled this season and the fact we couldn't dispatch them leaves us with two less points.

Come the end of the season, if (when?) we're challenging for promotion, will we have to find those two points from elsewhere? Could we be forced to beat a rival and much stronger team to make up for dropped points against weaker sides?

Being tough to beat is certainly a trait of promotion-winning sides, but ruthlessness is as well.

John Wilson says…

Régis Le Bris rings the changes

It was very much surprising, but for me very refreshing to see Le Bris shaking up the starting eleven with the introduction of Aaron Connolly and young Tommy Watson for their first starts.

It ultimately didn't work out, as Connolly hardly had a touch and Watson understandably struggled to get into the game, but it'll be valuable experience for the lad.

Another point on the road

As they say, 'if you can't win, don't lose', or perhaps a better adage: promotion form is 'win your home games and get at least a point away'.

Another clean sheet to boot.

A poor start

I would sum the first half up with one word: awful!

Slack passing, a lack of concentration and ball watching. Personally, one of the poorest halves we've played this season and we could easily have been two or three down at half time.

We only started to play when Romaine Mundle and Patrick Roberts were introduced in the second half. From then on, encouraged by the away fans, we could've won it.

A tough physical test

I was starting to think we'd become sterner and tougher, but not for the first time, we were hassled and bullied by the opposition.

We were missing Jobe Bellingham in midfield, but at times they made us look ordinary.

I thought we might lose this game, but a point gained and we remain top of the league.

Tom Albrighton says…

We remain top of the league

It seems remiss to complain too much, even if the game was far from easy on the eye, given that we're still top of the league.

A rough week and a lengthy period on the road looks to have caught up with us and whilst two points isn't awful, it's nowhere near the return we'd be looking to take.

We'll enjoy being top of the league for now but Football Manager enthusiasts will relate to the saying that 'a wise man fixes his roof when the sun shines', and that's probably where Sunderland are after this week.

However, three points at home to Coventry would turn a middling week into a good one.

Another clean sheet

Be it through luck or design, clean sheets can't be sniffed at, especially if you're a fetishist for them.

Last night felt like more luck than guile but it's always nice to be a team that's hard to break down and it can become a hugely important trait in games like this.

Sure, we were poor, but if we get promoted and there's two points in it, we can look back on our resolute defence being a real difference maker, and long may that continue.

Drawing a blank

This was the second game in a row in which Sunderland didn't look remotely threatening. A change of wingers brought no yield for Régis Le Bris, not aided by playing Tommy Watson on the wrong side.

You do have to worry whether we've been found out to a certain degree with this.

We did look more threatening for ten minutes or so, when Patrick Roberts and Romaine Mundle were introduced, but their threat was nullified soon after.

After 'winning ugly' against Hull and Luton, it's alarming how against both QPR and now Preston, we haven't managed to manifest a plan B.

Missing Jobe

I've never been sold on Alan Browne in his early stages of his Sunderland career, and the less said about his performance last night, the better.

Whilst Chris Rigg had a solid enough game, he was often isolated and struggled to get anything going due to a distinct lack of link ups, and no matter how hard our coaches attempt to will it into existence, Dan Neil will never be suited to being a number six.

All in all, it left Sunderland lamenting the loss of Jobe's quality and tenacity. Browne couldn't cover the ground nor replace half the quality of Bellingham, and with Neil again so deep, he couldn't bridge that gap in midfield that was so clear throughout.

Another one for Le Bris to sort, but the ease with which Preston cut through our midfield for an hour should have alarm bells ringing.