Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion had to settle for a point apiece as they drew 0-0 at the Stadium of Light this afternoon.
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Sebastian Larsson whipped an early free kick into the side-netting before James Morrison tested Costel Pantilimon with a rasping drive in the opening exchanges.
Both sides seemed intent on stamping their mark on the game and Mike Jones had to intervene as a number of scuffles punctuated the opening 20 minutes.
In the 27th minute, Jermain Defoe teed up Ricky Alvarez to shoot from the edge of the area, but the Argentine sliced his effort over the bar.
Adam Johnson saw a strike ruled out for offside before Larsson tested Ben Foster as Sunderland ended the first half in the ascendancy.
Both sides struggled to string together any meaningful attacks in the second half, but Santiago Vergini glanced a header just wide of the near post after ghosting in unmarked to meet a corner.
Connor Wickham was then denied by a reaction save from Foster with time ticking away, but there were no more clear-cut chances and the game fizzled out in the final few minutes.
Kristian Johnson
