I watched Sunderland draw at Norwich City - here's what I made of their performance and what we learned

It's a draw that will leave Sunderland with some mixed emotions.

Norwich City are a strong opponent on home turf in particular and a clean sheet and another outstanding Chris Mepham display were real positives. Sunderland also ended the game well, growing into the contest and perhaps unfortunate not to nick a winner.

The concern for players, staff and fans will undoubtedly be a listless first half in which Sunderland were lucky not to fall behind. An inevitable consequence of rotation and the low stakes of the game? That's what the Black Cats will hope it represents.

It said much about Sunderland's first-half performance that they reached the interval without registering a single shot at goal, the hosts dominating possession and level only due to some very poor finishing and lack of care in the final third.

Le Bris's decision to make numerous changes made sense both in guarding against further injuries and topping up the match fitness of those who have mostly been on the fringes of late, but it made for a disjointed display in which the visitors struggled to keep possession. There did also seem to be an issue of intent, Sunderland sat deep in their own half and applying very little pressure on the ball.

While much of Norwich's possession was int heir own half, they created big early chances with Slimane heading off the outside of the post when left unmarked inside the box and Borja Sainz shooting too close to Patterson when Neil was robbed on the ball and the winger was played clean through.

Eliezer Mayenda had moments of looking dangerous and almost played in a team mate on one or two occasions, but spurned his one big chance of the half when Norwich played themselves into trouble from their own goal kick. Mayenda won the ball but his touch wasn't good enough and in delaying too long, he allowed Norwich to recover.

The early exchanges of the second half were much of the same but Norwich were starting to struggle to create chances regularly and Sunderland began to enjoy more possession. Players who had been on the periphery for so much of the game for the first hour began to threaten, with Mayenda missing a good opportunity after Watson did well to get to the byline and cross on his weaker foot.

Le Bris turned to his experienced substitutes and Sunderland enjoyed a strong phase of the game as Le Fee and Roberts in particular started to get on the ball and drag their team up the pitch. The Black Cats ended the game on top and were unfortunate not to score, denied only by one very good Angus Gunn block and some excellent defending under dangerous crosses from the Norwich backline.

It was true that the hosts might have scored if not for some excellent defending from Chris Mepham, who was clearly Sunderland's standout player on the night. All the same it was the Black Cats who had enjoyed the better of the second half and the positive for Le Bris will have been how in control his side looked for the most part when his more experienced campaigners were on the pitch. Though it didn't yield much on this occasion, a composed showing from Le Fee in the middle of the pitch also offers tantalising promise of what could lie ahead.

The disappointed will be that those who came into the side weren't able to do more to stake a claim, though it's never easy to come in from the cold and Norwich are a strong side at home. They were lucky at times, but a clean sheet against the second top scorers in the league is another good return for the Black Cats. It was also a point that secured their place in the top six, an excellent achievement that should not be underestimated.

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