Match ends, Sunderland 0, Bristol City 0.
SunderlandSunderland0Bristol CityBristol City0
Bristol City goalkeeper Max O'Leary ensured his side came away from Sunderland with a point as they drew 0-0 in the Championship.
The Robins needed a string of fine saves from O'Leary to stay level at the break and Sunderland's Adil Aouchiche headed against the bar.
The Black Cats hit the bar again with 17 minutes to go through a Bradley Dack header and could not find a way past the Robins goalkeeper.
A point apiece keeps sees both sides stay in the places they started the day in, with City 12th and Sunderland two points behind them in 13th in the Championship table.
Having been thrashed 5-1 at home by Blackburn in midweek, Sunderland interim boss Mike Dodds made three changes to his side.
It seemed to have the desired effect as Sunderland started strongly, with O'Leary forced into a superb save from a ninth-minute Dan Ballard header from a corner while Trai Hume felt he was fouled in the box by Cameron Pring three minutes later, but the referee waved away the penalty claim.
City were grateful to O'Leary once again when he produced a fine 34th-minute double save to deny Jobe Bellingham and Jack Clarke.
He then brilliantly kept out Dan Neil two minutes later before Aouchiche headed the follow-up onto the bar.
But Sunderland had to be thankful to Luke O'Nien just before the break as the defender cleared Scott Twine's effort off the line after good work by the recalled Robins striker Nahki Wells.
Dack crashed a header off the bar as the second half became more scrappy, while soon after O'Leary was again there to keep the Robins in the game as he saved with his legs from Bellingham.
Sunderland interim head coach Mike Dodds told BBC Radio Newcastle:
"We had 20 shots on goal. If their goalkeeper isn't man of the match I'll be amazed.
"It was a much more positive reaction to the previous game which psychologically for the group is really important because that last game was completely unacceptable.
"I'm disappointed because I think we deserved to win the game.
"That should be three points and I think the goalkeeper has earned a point for Bristol there."
Bristol City head coach Liam Manning told BBC Radio Bristol:
"I'm probably more pleased with the outcome than the performance. I thought we showed a different side to us today.
"That wasn't free-flowing and we had to show a level of resilience, grit, fight, and the conditions I thought made the game extremely difficult."
On Max O'Leary's performance: "I thought he was outstanding today. We got away with a point mainly because of him.
"I lost count of how many top saves he made so I'm delighted for him and I'm delighted he's got another clean sheet.
"It's been a long time coming. Previous to the last four, we've not had loads so it's great now that it's four out of five clean sheets."
Line-ups
Sunderland
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Patterson
- 32HumeBooked at 62mins
- 13O'Nien
- 5Ballard
- 33HjeldeSubstituted forAleseat 66'minutes
- 39Ekwah
- 24Neil
- 31RiggSubstituted forRobertsat 66'minutes
- 22AouchicheSubstituted forDackat 59'minutes
- 20Clarke
- 7Bellingham
Substitutes
- 6Pembélé
- 9Silva Semedo
- 10Roberts
- 11Burstow
- 14Mundle
- 28Styles
- 30Bishop
- 42Alese
- 46Dack
Bristol City
Formation 4-4-2
- 1O'Leary
- 19Tanner
- 26Vyner
- 24RobertsBooked at 70mins
- 3Pring
- 17SykesSubstituted forWilliamsat 66'minutes
- 12Knight
- 6James
- 11MehmetiSubstituted forMcCrorieat 45'minutes
- 21WellsSubstituted forConwayat 66'minutes
- 7TwineSubstituted forCornickat 77'minutes
Substitutes
- 2McCrorie
- 8Williams
- 9Cornick
- 10King
- 15Conway
- 23Bajic
- 27Knight-Lebel
- 47Mebude
- Referee:
- Leigh Doughty
- Attendance:
- 40,298
Match Stats
Home TeamSunderlandAway TeamBristol City
- Possession
- Home57%
- Away43%
- Shots
- Home20
- Away8
- Shots on Target
- Home7
- Away2
- Corners
- Home4
- Away4
- Fouls
- Home12
- Away10
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Sunderland 0, Bristol City 0.
Post update
Foul by Jack Clarke (Sunderland).
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George Tanner (Bristol City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Attempt blocked. Tommy Conway (Bristol City) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
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Attempt blocked. Joe Williams (Bristol City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Tommy Conway.
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Hand ball by Jobe Bellingham (Sunderland).
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Attempt blocked. Jack Clarke (Sunderland) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
Substitution
Substitution, Bristol City. Harry Cornick replaces Scott Twine.
Post update
Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Max O'Leary.
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Attempt saved. Jobe Bellingham (Sunderland) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Jack Clarke.
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Foul by Patrick Roberts (Sunderland).
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Haydon Roberts (Bristol City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Bradley Dack (Sunderland) hits the bar with a header from the centre of the box. Assisted by Dan Neil with a headed pass.
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Attempt blocked. Bradley Dack (Sunderland) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is blocked. Assisted by Patrick Roberts with a through ball.
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Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Zak Vyner.
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Ajibola Alese (Sunderland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Ross McCrorie (Bristol City).
Booking
Haydon Roberts (Bristol City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Patrick Roberts (Sunderland) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Comments
Join the conversation
look at your league position and understand that every team above you is doing a more professional job at running a football club.
And by the way Up The Boro
So how far are they in front of you … absolutely miles 😂😂😂
Up the Boro
Kudos to Max O'Leary, but for a string of excellent saves that would have been embarrassing.
However, any team worth their salt would have beaten us today - Sunderland are bang average.
What do football managers and you lot need? Black and white line drawings?