The Stadium of Light was the destination for Harry Redknapp's first game in charge of Queens Park Rangers, who sit bottom of the Premier League.
They met a Sunderland team also struggling at the foot of the table and without a win in nine home games.
Niether Redknapp nor Martin O'Neill could inspire their teams to victory as the game ended in a stalemate.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look to see if the result was fair.
Match statistics:
Sunderland:
Shots 14
On target 4
Possession 50%
Corners 5
Fouls 10
Queens Park Rangers:
Shots 15
On target 5
Possession 50%
Corners 8
Fouls 15
Was the result fair?
Yes. Although, both teams losing would have probably been fairer. It was far from a classic. Mediocre, in fact...
Sunderland's performance
4/10. The Black Cats lacked any fluidity to their play and struggled to keep possession. Steve Fletcher worked hard enough but was bereft of service. Adam Johnson got involved but was largely disappointing, while Sebastian Larrson was virtually non-existent. It was a listless performance and Martin O'Neill will have some stern words for his players, who should have been right up for tonight considering their defeat at the weekend.
QPR's performance
5/10. The Hoops had the two best chances of the game, and looked the more dangerous going forward. However, they not much better than their hosts tonight. Adel Taarabt showed a few decent touches, but flattered to deceive mostly. Esteban Granero tried to spray the ball around, but the lack of movement in the QPR ranks made it difficult for him to pick his targets. Djibril Cisse barely had a kick.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Rob Green: This was hard to choose, but the England international made two great saves to deny Fletcher and probably deserves a bit of a pat on the back.
Biggest gaffe
Jamie Mackie should have put QPR in front in the first half, but delayed his shot too long and allowed Simon Mignolet to keep his effort out. It was the best chance of the match, by far.
Referee performance
One criticism of Andre Marriner's performance would be that it took six fouls for Mackie to eventually be booked. Apart from that, he controlled the game well.
What next?
Sunderland: The Black Cats travel to Carrow Road on Sunday to face Norwich City.
QPR: Harry Redknapp's men host Aston Villa at Loftus Road on Saturday.
Michael Penkman
