Sunderland were back in league action when they welcomed Leeds United to the Stadium of Light

The Premier League tables still does not make for pretty reading but this was at least a stop to the rot for Sunderland.

In a low-quality game badly impacting by Storm Boelo’s swirling winds, they at least showed the snarl and tenacity that had underpinned their rise last season and so was obviously lacking at Bournemouth a week previous. A valuable clean sheet means a point on the board

They just about created the better chances in the game even if it would be a stretch to say they were near their fluid best. 0-0 was a fair result at the end of a tough watch for the neutral, raising the pressure on next week’s trip to Coventry City but potentially giving Sunderland a platform.

It was Leeds who had forged the first opening of the game, Jayden Bogle dragging a shot wide after a neat spin on the edge of the area. Sunderland responded in kind, Brobbey doing well on his return to dig out a pass from Le Fee and get his shot away, Trafford getting down well at his near post to push it wide after a deflection.

To say that the rest of the half was a long way from a classic would be an understatement, but from a Sunderland perspective there was some merit to that. At Bournemouth they had started dreadfully and been all but out of the contest by 20 minutes, whereas here they limited Leeds United. The wind did mean there were a couple of tricky moments for O'Nien in particular as Leeds went direct, but the Black Cats cut out the silly errors and defended their box very well from set pieces.

It felt like a clear ploy to stay in the game but the home support were encouraged as they began to grow a little bolder in their pressing and their intent. It led to the first clear chance of the half when Bijol sold his team mate short and Xhaka pounced, the interception running to Brobbey who almost snuck an effort past Trafford but was denied well by the goalkeeper's trailing leg.

Sunderland probably shaded the rest of the half albeit without carving out any more clear chances, with the big positive from their perspective that Nilson Angulo again looked a real threat. It had not been an easy half on the eye, but Sunderland were bang in the game and had limited Leeds to an XG under 0.1.

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That defensive platform would be to put to the test to a second half that got off to just about the worst possible start for the Black Cats, who saw Mukiele withdrawn from the action after being caught in the throat by a flailing O’Nien arm.

Sunderland had to ride a wave of pressure as that change disrupted their momentum, but came through it well and started to grow in confidence as Angulo twice drew decent stops from Trafford with efforts from the edge of the area. The Black Cats continued to look just about the more likely even if Brobbey’s expected departure just after the hour mark left them lacking some presence in the final third.

They had a big opening when substitute Talbi broke free after pouncing on a poor touch, but with Diarra racing into space beyond him he had shot blocked by the covering defender.

Substitute Sean Longstaff had a late effort for the visitors which drew a smart stop from Roefs low to his left, but neither side could argue they had done enough to win it even if Leeds did end the six minutes of stoppage time firmly on top. A low-quality contest that leaves Sunderland rooted to the bottom, but still felt like a small step in the right direction.