Sunderland were forced to settle for a point in a goalless draw with promotion rivals Plymouth Argyle on the south coast. The Black Cats almost opened the scoring in the first half through Ross Stewart, but Cooper in the Plymouth goal was out smartly to deny the striker after Embleton's throughball.
The hosts had chances themselves in a goalless first 45 minutes. Ennis was denied by a good save from Patterson on one occasion, and Hardie headed just wide on the other.
Nathan Broadhead was causing plenty of problems, and was denied by Cooper's legs early in the second half. It was a tight game, with Dennis Cirkin booked for a cynical foul, before Argyle's Grant saw a shot go narrowly wide.
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Chances were few and far between, but Sunderland went close to breaking the deadlock when Stewart turned and managed to get a shot away, only to see it go wide.
Here's how James Hunter rated the Sunderland players.
Anthony Patterson 7
Made a good save from Ennis in the first half, and his handling was immaculate through
Carl Winchester 6
Solid on the right side of the back three
Bailey Wright 7
Strong at the heart of defence and won his duel with Hardie
Dennis Cirkin 7
Did well defensively and was not afraid to get forward at times, too
Jack Clarke 6
Saw plenty of the ball but his end product was lacking
Corry Evans 7
Another controlled performance from the skipper in central midfield
Jay Matete 6
Won plenty of challenges in the middle of the park
Elliot Embleton 6
A couple of pot-shots from range, but nothing seemed to work out for him
Luke O'Nien 6
Played left wingback and did OK. Had one decent shooting chance but miskicked it completely
Nathan Broadhead 6
Had Sunderland's best chance but could not beat the keeper
Ross Stewart 6
Worked hard up front but had only one real sight of goal, and the keeper prevented him getting a shot away
Subs
Lynden Gooch 6
For O'Nien 74mins. Did OK
Patrick Roberts- N/A
For Embleton 76mins.
Dan Neil N/A
For Matete 80mins
Not used: Burge, Batth, Xhemajli, Hume
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