This was probably the most predictable result of the season. Preston, the team with the Championship's tightest defence and also the division's lowest scorers, versus a Sunderland side devoid of strikers due to injuries but defensively well-organised.
The Black Cats may have overcome their striker shortage to score five times in their previous two games at Reading at Watford, but those goals came against sides happy to make the running on home turf. Preston were largely content to sit back at the Stadium of Light and protect their record of having yet to concede on their travels.
The Lancashire side arrived on Wearside having kept seven clean sheets in ten games, and having ground out five goalless draws along the way. So against that backdrop, it was no surprise that they departed having kept clean sheet number eight and clocked up goalless draw number six.
READ MORE: Tony Mowbray explains why Sunderland are finding it harder to score at home than away
This was a reminder that, while Sunderland have found ways to score without a centre-forward, there will be days when they come up short. The sooner Ross Stewart and/or Ellis Simms return, the better.
Post-match, both managers spoke of their frustration. In Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray's case, it was at his side's inability to turn openings into clear-cut chances, to find that final pass, or shot on goal, in the way they had in their previous two games.
His opposite number Ryan Lowe's frustration was at his team's continued impotence in front of goal - they have scored just three times in 11 league outings. While Sunderland dominated possession and had more shots, it was Preston who came closest to scoring as their size and strength advantage told at set-pieces.
Ben Whiteman saw a shot brilliantly cleared off the line by Aji Alese in the first half after Sunderland had failed to clear a corner, while Lynden Gooch was guarding the post to clear centre-back Jordan Storey's header off the line in the second period, again from a corner. And early in the second half, Anthony Patterson was called upon to make a reflex save from Ched Evans, this time from a free-kick routine.
At the other end, Sunderland found it more difficult. Elliot Embleton drew a save out of Freddie Woodman in the first half, and Patrick Roberts did the same in the final ten minutes.
For the Black Cats, though, it was the nearly-moments that offered more promise - crosses whistling across the six-yard box with no-one to get on the end of them, Roberts' outrageous skill to beat two players and get into the area only to bend his shot wide of the far post, and a raft of long-range shots which missed the target by various margins. In the end, neither side could find a way through.
But while there was a tinge of disappointment at the final whistle - as there always is when Sunderland fail to win at home - the Black Cats will reflect on a good point earned against an established midtable Championship side.
Sunderland are now just outside the top six and, while maintaining that kind of form across the season as a whole will be a very tall order, the fact that they are there with essentially a quarter of a season gone is no mean feat. Few would have dared to predict that when Sunderland secured promotion back in May.
READ NEXT:
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- Aji Alese impresses again, and Jack Clarke offers a threat: Sunderland 0-0 Preston player ratings
- Strikerless Black Cats held by goalless draw specialists: Sunderland 0-0 Preston report
- Tony Mowbray gives his verdict on Sunderland's start, and guards against getting carried away
- Sunderland starlet Edouard Michut backed to shine on Wearside despite tough start
