Sunderland 0 - 0 BurnleySunderland draw a blank against Burnley as David Moyes feels pressureAnti-climax and downright disappointment are no strangers to Sunderland but such familiarity failed to assuage the pain of yet another game without a win and no goal for Jermain Defoe on a day when he had hoped to celebrate his recall to the England fold.
If a point was hardly much help to David Moyes’s bottom placed side, it left Burnley still seeking their first away win in the League this season after outstanding saves from the otherwise largely underworked, goalkeepers, Jordan Pickford and Tom Heaton, once again emphasised their importance to these clubs.
Sean Dyche’s smile at the final whistle suggested the draw was far from a disaster for his team as, mindful of the dangers of being belatedly sucked into the relegation race, they inch their way towards the 40-point mark. Moyes meanwhile had the presence of an unexpected guest – and its implication – to worry about.
Ellis Short, Sunderland’s owner – a man very rarely seen at games this season – had surprised a few people by turning up for this one but, with Joey Barton frequently dictating midfield, the first half must have made for uncomfortable viewing from the directors’ box.
If the moment when Burnley’s self-styled enforcer was booked for hacking down Adnan Januzaj briefly lifted the crowd, Sunderland’s strictly limited manoeuvres offered precious little else to cheer about.
Indeed Burnley began brightly and George Boyd would surely have given them an early lead had he not misjudged Stephen Ward’s cross, shooting thin air before Jason Denayer cleared.
The Wearsiders are the only club in the current bottom six not to have changed managers this season and Short’s surprise appearance prompted questions as to whether he was considering dispensing with Moyes.
While that seems unlikely – although far from an impossible from an owner with serious form for making switches in March – the Scot cut a disconsolate figure in his padded dug-out seat as he watched Denayer struggling to subdue Andre Gray. How Sunderland could have done without Lamine Koné, their best defender, sustaining an injury in training on Friday that left him on crutches.
As the first half drew to a close Ashley Barnes, Gray’s attacking partner, seemed the likelier scorer, toe-poking Scott Arfield’s miscued close–range shot inches wide with Pickford, and the entire home defence, momentarily frozen.
The start of the second half coincided with Sunderland’s first real chance but Fabio Borini could only shoot straight at Heaton after connecting with Bryan Oviedo’s splendid through ball.
Things were finally looking up a little for Moyes who subsequently saw Heaton do well to keep out a volley from Januzaj – cleverly cued up by the hitherto service-starved Defoe – out before Seb Larsson sliced the rebound’s fall-out over the bar.
By now rain was cascading down and mist rolling in from the North Sea but Sunderland’s new found optimism threatened to be washed away as a disbelieving Billy Jones punched the turf after heading Larsson’s cross inches wide.
Perhaps significantly Defoe’s body language looked increasingly frustrated, the stretching striker appearing furious at his first failure to extend a boot and divert that effort past Heaton and then a Januzaj shot that whizzed fractionally wide.
As the weather cleared, a flock of seagulls suddenly swooped into the stadium for a rather surreal fly-past and Burnley rallied. Denayer’s mistake prefaced Pickford saving brilliantly from Sam Vokes – who also headed another chance narrowly wide – before the Belgian defender redeemed himself with a fine block to deny Arfield.
Borini might have enjoyed the final word but Heaton saved smartly from the Italian before Short’s ears were assaulted by the boos greeting the final whistle.
Guardian