Ten-man Aston Villa held on to earn a goalless draw against Sunderland in their Premier League clash.
Fabian Delph was shown a straight red card early in the second half for a high challenge on Jordi Gomez.
In a game of few chances, Gomez fired against the post late on for the Black Cats, as the game finished on level terms.
Here, Sports Mole has rated the performances of each of the players on show at Villa Park.
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ASTON VILLA:
Goal
Brad Guzan: The keeper was not called upon too much in the match, as Sunderland had only three attempts on target. He was a strong presence in the closing stages and make a vital interception to deny Wickham from close range in the second half. (7/10)
Defence
Alan Hutton: Constantly got up and down his flank all afternoon and coped well with the dismissal of Delph after the break. (7/10)
Ron Vlaar: The Dutchman was solid all afternoon and made a number of vital interceptions to keep Sunderland from breaking through. (8/10)
Ciaran Clark: Was another of the Villa defenders who had a good game at the back and made some important challenges before he was replaced by Okore just after the hour mark. (7/10)
Aly Cissokho: Had a decent game, but allowed the visitors to get in behind him down the left on a few occasions. (6/10)
Midfield
Tom Cleverley: Struggled to impose himself on the match and was poor in possession. He found it hard to deal with Sunderland's midfield and was replaced by Grealish midway through the second half. (5/10)
Fabian Delph: Did not have the worst first half, but put his team under pressure following his deserved red card just minutes after the break. (5/10)
Carlos Sanchez: Was involved in most of Villa's play in the midfield and used possession well throughout the match. (7/10)
Andreas Weimann: Did not have too many chances to impress and was left stranded in the attack far too often. (6/10)
Charles N'Zogbia: Looked one of the brightest players on the pitch in the first half and had a few efforts on goal, but faded after the break and was replaced by Bacuna shortly before the hour mark. (6/10)
Attack
Christian Benteke: Barely had a chance in the whole match, but could very well have snatched all three points for Villa in stoppage time when he headed into the side netting. (6/10)
Substitutes
Jack Grealish: Was a real bright spark when he came on and he made a number of telling runs down the left. (7/10)
Leandro Bacuna: Slotted into the midfield well and almost grabbed a late winner when his powerful drive was saved by Pantilimon. (6/10)
Jores Okore: Thrown into the action for the last 30 minutes and helped Villa to keep hold of their clean sheet. (6/10)
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SUNDERLAND:
Goal
Costel Pantilimon: Was barely tested until the final minutes of the match where he made fine saves to deny Vlaar and Bacuna. (7/10)
Defence
Santiago Vergini: Was not overly troubled at the back, but failed to offer his team great support when they were pushing for an opener after Villa went down to 10 men. (6/10)
John O'Shea: Made a brilliant tackle in the first half to stop Weimann from getting a shot away inside the box. He was reliable all afternoon and marshalled the defence well. (7/10)
Wes Brown: Was strong in the air throughout the game and did well in his battle against Benteke. (7/10)
Billy Jones: The full-back made a number of great runs down his flank and delivered some telling balls into the box. Villa never got in behind him at the back and he won all of his challenges. (7/10)
Midfield
Sebastian Larsson: Struggled to really impose himself on the match and saw less of the ball as the game wore on. (6/10)
Liam Bridcutt: Went off injured inside the first 20 minutes and had little time to make a real impact. (6/10)
Adam Johnson: Played a wonderful pass through to Wickham at the start of the second half, but it was his only major contribution as the match largely passed him by. (6/10)
Jordi Gomez: Did not get involved too much in his side's attacks, but almost won the game with a stinging drive late on that came crashing back off the post. (6/10)
Attack
Connor Wickham: Looked busy and gave Villa's defence plenty of problems throughout. He only had one big chance, but his strike was brilliantly blocked by Vlaar. (6/10)
Steven Fletcher: The striker only had one shot throughout the match and was kept quiet by the home side's defence. (6/10)
Substitutes
Emanuele Giaccherini: Delivered a number of good crosses into the box as his team searched for a late winner. (6/10)
Will Buckley: Was only on for the final 12 minutes and did not have too many chances to shine. (6/10)
Lee Cattermole: Tough tackling display as usual from the midfielder, who picked up a booking in the second half. (6/10)
Alex Meyers
