Sunderland have moved further away from safety despite recording a goalless draw with Burnley in their Premier League fixture at the Stadium of Light.
The fixture in the North-East was regarded as a must-win for the Black Cats, but they could not break down a Clarets side who registered just their third away point of the season.
During the early stages of the match, Jordan Pickford had to be alert to deny Ashley Barnes before at the other end, Jack Rodwell fired off target for the home side.
Throughout the remainder of the first half, the visitors had the better of the play with Scott Arfield sending a free kick just wide, but Sunderland remained a threat with Darron Gibson also just failing to hit the target.
Five minutes before the break, Burnley came close to opening the scoring, but Barnes poked just wide after Arfield had miscued his shot.
Sunderland returned for the second half on the front foot with Fabio Borini forcing a save out of Tom Heaton, before Billy Jones headed wide after meeting a Sebastian Larsson cross.
Adnan Januzaj also went close with a well-struck shot but as the game moved closer to a conclusion, Burnley began to pose a bigger threat with Sam Vokes heading wide from a Robbie Brady set piece.
The Welsh forward had another opportunity two minutes later when he raced through on goal, only to find Pickford equal to his shot as Burnley's search for an away win continued.
In added-on time, Wahbi Khazri brought a save out of Heaton but neither side deserved to lose on Saturday afternoon as Sunderland failed to secure the win they required to give themselves renewed hope of remaining in the top flight.
Darren Plant
