Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion shared a goalless draw in their Premier League meeting at the Stadium of Light this afternoon.

The hosts thought that they had opened the scoring just before the break when Adam Johnson turned the ball in, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

The result keeps the Baggies 14th in the table, while Sunderland drop to 16th.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at the individual performances in the match.

Goal

Costel Pantilimon: The keeper only had to make one comfortable save, but he came off his line to punch a couple of crosses clear in a quiet, yet faultless, afternoon between the posts. (7/10)

Defence

Wes Brown: Brown made a couple of reasonable clearances and blocks and got forward a couple of times to try to help out up front. (5/10)

Anthony Reveillere: Reveillere came under pressure a bit early on as Ideye and Berahino tried to run the ball down the left, but the defender halted their attacks in the second half. (5/10)

John O'Shea: The captain gave a good performance in an otherwise unremarkable match, leading the tight Sunderland defence while also proving a nuisance up front with some testing crosses. (7/10)

Santiago Vergini: Vergini was fairly anonymous until missing a free header from a corner in the second half. Taken off early. (3/10)

Midfield

Lee Cattermole: Cattermole provided plenty of long balls forward in his first appearance of 2015 and showed typical determination in midfield. (7/10)

Sebastian Larsson: Larsson's late drive in the first half was one of just two on-target efforts for the hosts, and he always looked dangerous on the edge of the box, but ultimately could not find the target. (6/10)

Adam Johnson: The winger should have been awarded a goal in the first half when he was wrongly flagged offside, but he did not look like coming close again in the second. (6/10)

Ricardo Alvarez: Alvarez let his temper get the better of him a couple of times in the first half, picking up a cheap booking, but he found his cool in the second half, only to be subbed with 20 minutes to go. (5/10)

Attack

Danny Graham: Graham was kept quiet by some controversially close defending from Lescott, before being taken off with 20 minutes remaining after failing to get a shot away. (4/10)

Jermain Defoe: The striker showed lots of pace and determination going forward, but was unable to actually force a save from Foster. (5/10)

Substitutes

Patrick van Aanholt: Van Aanholt only came on for the last couple of minutes, and did not have much to do as Sunderland piled forward in search of a late winner. (5/10)

Steven Fletcher: Replacing Alvarez for the final 20 minutes, Fletcher helped Sunderland dominate late on, but was unable to break the deadlock. (6/10)

Connor Wickham: Wickham had one of only two on-target efforts for the hosts, but was denied by a stretching Foster just moments after he replaced Graham. (6/10)

Goal

Ben Foster: Foster was the busier of the two keepers and pulled off two superb saves to keep a clean sheet away from home. (7/10)

Defence

Joleon Lescott: Lescott may have been a little fortunate not to be sent off for a foul on Graham early on, but he recovered to make some solid blocks and launch some counter-attacks for the visitors. (6/10)

Chris Brunt: Brunt was not at his best on set-piece duty this afternoon, over-hitting a string of free kicks, but he did help limit the number of chances for the hosts. (4/10)

Gareth McAuley: The centre-back protected Foster well, making some crucial blocks and shaking off a couple of heavy collisions. (6/10)

Craig Dawson: Dawson got forward a few times in the first half, but had to stay back as Sunderland attacked more in the second half. (4/10)

Midfield

Claudio Yacob: Yacob caused a few problems in the box for the visitors, but also gave away some silly fouls during a scrappy first half. (5/10)

James Morrison: Morrison ran relentlessy to try to create some chances for the strikers, and had his side's only shot on target, but he tired after the break and was taken off with 15 minutes to go. (6/10)

Craig Gardner: Gardner put in a workmanlike shift, working hard to win back possession several times in midfield. (6/10)

Darren Fletcher: The midfielder made some crucial moves to set up counter-attacks and kept the ball moving, but rarely saw action in the box. (5/10)

Attack

Brown Ideye: Ideye did not have the same impact that he has had in recent weeks, struggling with his first touch in the box. (3/10)

Saido Berahino: Berahino worked hard to create chances for himself and Ideye, but was often crowded out by the strong Sunderland defenders. (5/10)

Substitutes

Chris Baird: The defender came on to tighten up the back line while Sunderland were on top in the second half and helped secure the clean sheet. (5/10)

Callum McManaman: The winger only came off the bench with a couple of minutes to go, and did not have time to make an impact. (2/10)

Written by
Sian Cowper