Wilson Isidor denied as West Brom hold on for draw against Sunderland

Sunderland extended their unbeaten run to 10 games but, as the smattering of gentle boos that greeted the final whistle testified, it was most certainly not a cause for celebration on Wearside.

Instead a fifth straight draw, against highly efficient if somewhat unambitious opponents well practised at pinching ostensibly unlikely points, saw Régis Le Bris’s early season pace setters slip to third in the Championship. West Brom’s reward for the obduracy that so frustrated increasingly frustrated Stadium of Light season ticket holders was a drop to seventh in a ­fascinating second tier.

Carlos Corberán may soon have to decide if he wants to fill Leicester’s managerial vacancy but West Brom’s much-coveted head coach cut his usual fully committed, often highly agitated, technical area figure. Corberán had been forced into an unscheduled revamp when Ousmane Diakité was injured in the warm-up, necessitating his replacement by Kyle Bartley.

It proved a rare moment of minor early drama as little else of note happened during the opening 45 minutes. Admittedly Josh Maja seemed keen to impress on his latest return to his old club but the nearest West Brom’s leading scorer came to a goal was a shot directed wide following his slick connection with a Tom ­Fellows cut back.

With Bartley, newly recovered from a knee problem, playing a key part in an extremely well organised visiting defence and Sunderland’s Wilson Isidor unleashing the sole first-half shot on target – a benign and easily saved deflected strike – the home side’s promising approach play invariably fizzled out on the edge of the penalty area. Tellingly, the majority of their shots were delivered from outside the box.

Jobe Bellingham fires a shot over the bar for the hosts. Photograph: Richard Sellers/PA

By half-time the sense that both sides were playing with the handbrake on ensured it had all turned distinctly flat. Small wonder West Brom had drawn seven of their previous eight games and Le Bris’s hosts had collected a point apiece from their preceding four fixtures.

Presumably attempting to change that narrative Corberán replaced Mikey Johnston and a perhaps not entirely match fit Bartley with Uros Racic and Lewis Dobbin at the interval.

On a night when two promotion rivals in Sheffield United – who host Sunderland in a highly intriguing looking game at Bramall Lane on Friday night – and Burnley were winning, while latterly renascent Middlesbrough and Leeds were ­preparing for games on Wednesday night both Le Bris and Corberán knew that three points could reaffirm their promotion credentials.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sunderland’s manager seemed to harbour the greater ambition. Indeed it spoke volumes that, midway through the second half, the home team had nine corners and the visitors none. The only problem was that Sunderland could not make the most of such set pieces.

It might have been different had Maja still been wearing red and white stripes but no current Sunderland player could quite make the most of some promising wing play from Patrick Roberts. Granted Isidor did deposit the ball in Alex Palmer’s net after meeting Luke O’Nien’s cross but the striker was fractionally offside. Significantly that close call came at the conclusion of a rare highlight, namely a gorgeous move involving Jobe Bellingham, Dan Neil, Roberts and Chris Rigg.

A little later Rigg was clearly onside and his shot seemed goalbound but Alex Mowatt’s fine 11th hour block ensured the impasse endured.

After that Roberts sent an angled shot whizzing inches wide and Isidor also went close once more while, at the other end, Dan Ballard’s last-ditch clearance off the line denied Dobbin a counterattacking goal but a winner remained stubbornly elusive. As a little of Sunderland’s early season optimism evaporated Corberán’s players had secured the draw they travelled north east for.