Roefs the rock as disciplined Sunderland pocket a valuable point at Selhurst Park

Sunderland’s first away point of the campaign came the hard way, forged in ceaseless work without the ball and sealed by a statement goalkeeping display from Robin Roefs. The promoted Black Cats drew 0-0 with Crystal Palace, choking the spaces that the hosts crave and relying on their new No 1 to smother the biggest moments when the game tilted toward the home side.

Regis Le Bris set his team up to frustrate and they executed, even as fatigue crept in during the final quarter under heavy rain and heavy pressure. Palace had the better chances, but Roefs’ six saves and some stout defending — notably Omar Alderete’s deflection on a Pino rebound — ensured the clean sheet and a point that felt like progress on the road.

Le Bris’s plan to spoil works — and travels

Sunderland’s shape was compact and clever. With Granit Xhaka anchoring midfield, they denied Palace room between the lines, closed crosses at the source, and forced the hosts into narrower routes where bodies could converge. The approach bred frustration inside Selhurst Park, with home fans increasingly at odds with referee Thomas Bramall as the minutes ebbed away.

When Sunderland did fashion moments, they were fleeting but real. Chemsdine Talbi ghosted to the back post to meet a Simon Adingra cross before Tyrick Mitchell’s timely block intervened, and Wilson Isidor pounced on a long throw only to volley wide. The visitors never hit the target, underscoring that this point was built on shape and resilience while their new-look attack continues to gel.

Roefs’ six-save masterclass and Alderete’s steel

The Dutch goalkeeper’s fingerprints were everywhere on this result. He dived low to turn away a skidding Daichi Kamada effort, stood tall to beat out Jean-Philippe Mateta from close range, and somehow kept another Mateta strike from crossing the line in a frantic late sequence. In the dying minutes he blocked substitute Christantus Uche’s shot and reacted again to snuff out the follow-up.

Earlier, his parry from Mateta in the 49th minute fell invitingly for Yeremy Pino, but Alderete’s sharp deflection carried the rebound over. Over the piece Roefs’ interventions were the difference, the kind of afternoon that not only secures a clean sheet but also underlines why a safe pair of hands can be as valuable as any goal scorer in a survival fight.

A work in progress up front, resolve at the back

Le Bris acknowledged that his side handled the game’s picture as planned in the first half but did not create enough to truly threaten. That will come with time. The club’s extensive summer recruitment needs rhythm, and on this evidence the structure is already there; the cutting edge will follow. Isidor, rewarded with a start after early-season goals, toiled without service on a day when chances were scarce.

The late stages tested Sunderland’s legs and nerve. As the rain intensified and Palace mounted wave after wave, it became a rearguard action, but the visiting back line — with Alderete prominent — and Roefs’ reflexes saw it out. The clean sheet and point away to a side that has not lost this season are tangible markers of progress.

Table, trajectory, and the next step

Sunderland remain sixth, still ahead of Palace in eighth, with a first point on their travels to add to home momentum. Le Bris had called this their toughest early assignment, and they emerged with something to show for it — and with further evidence that their defensive platform can carry them while the attack irons out the details.

There is breathing room to recover and refine. Sunderland exited the Carabao Cup in round one, so there is no midweek fixture; instead they can prepare fully for Aston Villa’s visit to the Stadium of Light at 14:00 on Sunday, 21 September. Bank enough afternoons like this, and the path to survival begins to look navigable.