How Tony Mowbray's Sunderland passed this Millwall test with flying colours

A roar of ferocious Millwall and Sunderland noise greeted the kick-off at the Den, and with only eight seconds gone, if the Black Cats couldn’t already tell, this was going to have to be a torrid and resilient performance.

Immediately, Millwall sought the space of their goalkeeper, who stuck his foot through the ball and there was Sunderland’s first battle of the game. Yet, in this case, Danny Batth won the header, towering over Tom Bradshaw, but the second ball was picked up by Millwall.

Back to the ‘keeper it went, and so they tried again. And again. And again.

This set a rather hostile tone for a test that Sunderland have rarely came up against this season. Long balls, tough battles, an intense atmosphere, and a youthful side.

In League One, Sunderland struggled to deal with this kind of opposition. But, on this occasion, this side stood up to the challenge, and found a way, just about.

When Jake Cooper somehow scooped the ball over Anthony Patterson, it felt like Sunderland had a mountain to climb at a deafening Den, but a combination of Tony Mowbray changes and a fighting spirit, Cooper’s fall, scoop and flick didn’t prove to be the decisive moment.

After a week of striker discussion, the away side have to start finding ways to find the back of the net: Dennis Cirkin, literally, putting his body on the line to find an equaliser.

For Mowbray, this was a box ticked and a challenge passed. On another day with another set of players, Sunderland wouldn’t have been able to dig deep and claim a point, but with this side, their character is one that can’t be put into question.

What this result does for the club’s form is absolutely significant. Only one defeat in their last nine, and two in their last 12 puts Mowbray’s troopers into a superb position in the league, and a chance to show a different side of their qualities in an FA Cup fourth-round replay on Wednesday.

For now, in these circumstances, this was a valuable point.