Encouragement at the Amex - my key conclusions from Cats' draw

Sunderland kept another clean sheet and earned another point in their bid for Premier League safety as they drew with Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Saturday.

- by Phil Smith

Phil Smith was there, and these were his key conclusions...

Even amid Sunderland's superb start to the season, the Africa Cup of Nations loomed as a potential pressure-point in the campaign. Even if other players put their hand up and the depth of the squad began to look stronger, losing key figures when the fixtures come thick and fast looked a real hurdle for the Black Cats.

Though there is no doubt that Brighton ended this game far the stronger of the two teams, the overriding emotion for anyone following Sunderland would surely be relief at the general level of performance. Sunderland were the better side in the first hour, defending resolutely and creating some genuinely decent chances either side of the halftime interval. Were it not for a very strong goalkeeping performance from Bart Verbruggen, they could have taken the lead and left the Amex Stadium with all three points.

The hosts were missing some key players of their own, it should be said, but that there was ultimately so little between the two teams on the whole is a positive for Sunderland heading into this phase of the season. Trai Hume had an excellent game at left back, both defensively and in offering a threat on the ball.