Tony Mowbray is determined to avoid making Sunderland's lack of strikers an issue despite his side being held to a goalless draw by Preston North End at the Stadium of Light. Preston arrived on Wearside with the best defensive record - and worst offensive record - in the Championship and, with Sunderland still without a centre-forward due to the injuries to Ross Stewart and Ellis Simms, it was perhaps hardly surprising that the game ended in a goalless stalemate.
But rather than concentrate on Sunderland's lack of firepower, Mowbray pointed out that his side had scored five goals in their last two games at Reading and Watford while Stewart and Simms were missing. "I don't want to get hung up about the lack of strikers, because we've found a way in the last two games," said Mowbray.
"Today we didn't get those spaces that we thrive in, they are a well organised team. We've got players in the side and on the bench who can score goals, so we'll keep going."
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Preston have now kept eight clean sheets in 11 league games, and have conceded only four goals all season. Mowbray said: "It was a frustrating afternoon. You have to put it into context, with the team we played against - I don't know how many clean sheets they have had but it's a ridiculous number, I think they kept seven in a row at the start of the season.
"They set up well defensively, they carry a threat particularly from set-plays because there was a huge difference in the physicality of the teams, but we managed to see that threat off. We probably didn't have many clear-cut chances but we got in behind them quite a bit, and that final pass or that little run inside the box that finishes with a hit on target just wasn't there today - we couldn't pick out that last pass.
"Even Patrick [Roberts] cutting in off that right-hand side, the ball was whizzing past the post rather than going in off the post into the bottom corner. It would have been been nice to be sitting here saying how hard we had worked for it but let's put the point in the bag, move on, because there's another game [at home to Blackpool] on Tuesday."
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