Tottenham Hotspur have been held to a goalless draw by Sunderland in their Premier League fixture at the Stadium of Light.
Mauricio Pochettino's team dominated possession against the Black Cats, but they did not do enough in the final third as the home team comfortably held on for a deserved point to dent the North London outfit's title hopes.
Spurs went into the match having scored 18 goals during six games at the start of 2017, but they endured an ineffective opening 45 minutes in the North-East.
They always carried a threat on the break, but the best opportunities of the first half fell to Sunderland, with Jermain Defoe seeing a shot deflected wide in the opening 10 minutes.
Fabio Borini also forced a save out of Michel Vorm after running onto a clearance, while at the other end, Spurs' best effort came from a long-range strike from Victor Wanyama.
Towards the end of the half, the visitors were dealt a blow when Danny Rose was forced off with a foot injury, leaving Pochettino to bring on Ben Davies.
Spurs needed to improve after the restart and they almost found an opening goal when Davies fired the ball across the six-yard box, but Harry Kane was unable to apply the finishing touch.
Christian Eriksen also saw a free kick saved by Vito Mannone, while Kyle Walker had a deflected effort go over the crossbar as they continued to struggle to find a way through a resolute Sunderland defence.
Up the other end, Borini flashed the ball across the penalty area but Defoe was unable to apply the decisive touch from close range.
Spurs introduced Moussa Sissoko in an attempt to add some creativity and power in the final third but as the game entered the closing stages, opportunities remained few and far between.
Eriksen forced another save out of Mannone with five minutes left, but that was as good as it got for Spurs as they dropped two points against the Premier League strugglers.
Darren Plant
