Danny Batth hailed his “tireless” Sunderland team-mates for grinding out a goalless draw against Burnley. No other side has kept a clean sheet at Turf Moor this season, with the Clarets winning 14 of their 20 home games.
The Black Cats grafted their way to a valuable away point - just about keeping their Premier League dream alive. While their promotion hopes are slipping, knowing Sunderland can hang with the best side in the division - away from home - should stand them in good stead for the rest of the campaign.
Despite only having 30 percent possession, Tony Mowbray’s side managed just as many shots on target as the league leaders. Danny Batth was at his rock-solid best alongside Luke O’Nien in defence to keep Burnley at bay.
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“We're really proud of the whole team, to be fair,” he said post-match. “You saw how hard the entire team worked - it was tireless. Burnley are a good side.
“You’re not going to come here and dominate possession. They’ve shown over the season that they deserve to be where they are, so it was up to us to make it difficult and try to live off the scraps when we pick the ball up.”
Lynden Gooch also praised the togetherness of the Sunderland dressing room to earn a point at Burnley after an underwhelming couple of months. The American insisted this season can only be viewed as a positive following promotion from League One.
“We've got a great dressing room and, although we've had a lot of injuries, people came into the team and did their jobs,” Gooch added. “I think we've just taken the season on from where we finished last year.
“Overall, it’s been positive. But yeah, (we) just (have a) great togetherness and are willing to work for each other.”
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