David Moyes believes the point gained against Tottenham Hotspur can provide the perfect catalyst for his side to climb the Premier League.
Sunderland fought admirably against a Spurs side who visited the Stadium of Light having suffered just two top-flight defeats all season.
While the task seemed an ominous one, Moyes rallied his troops as Didier Ndong and Jack Rodwell made life uncomfortable for Christian Eriksen and Moussa Dembele.
Fabio Borini let two chances go begging in the opening period before Mauricio Pochettino’s side came on strong after the restart.
But Moyes’ side fought valiantly ‘till the end and secured a valuable point plus a clean sheet ahead of Saturday’s trip to Crystal Palace.
“It’s a good point; I’m pleased that we took something from the game as Spurs are a top team with some exceptional young players and some of the most valued players in the country,” he said.
“I think we’ve got to praise our boys for coming away with a point, we all know we wanted three but we’ll take that from the game.
“I’m happy we didn’t concede or make any mistakes that led to goals tonight.
“Our best chances came in the first half; we had two or three big opportunities to score or take something out of the game.
“In the second half Spurs turned the screw a bit more and made it difficult. We wanted to win, but we also had to make sure that we didn’t lose, so it becomes a fine balance.
“Thankfully tonight we didn’t lose,” he continued.
“We have to go to Palace and look forward to that game now, today we were solid and didn’t make too many mistakes but we’ll need to play much better to win games.
“It’s a great confidence boost going into that game, apart from the game against Stoke in the league and Burnley in the cup our form hasn’t been too bad at home, we’ve had some good results.
“We’ve now got to try and take it to another level and find a way of winning games and getting goals from every area of the pitch.”
