Sunderland attribute delights Regis Le Bris with 'useful experience' claim

Head coach Regis Le Bris praised his Sunderland players’ resilience as they held QPR to a 0-0 draw despite playing more than half an hour with 10 men at Loftus Road. The result meant the Black Cats’ five-point lead at the top of the Championship was cut to three as Leeds United closed in, while Sheffield United won too.

Sunderland extended their unbeaten run in the to six games but faced a tough challenge at west London. In the first half, Dan Neil struck the post, offering an early chance for the Black Cats. However, Rangers applied heavy pressure, which intensified after Jobe Bellingham received a straight red card in the 58th minute for a tackle on Žan Celar. But the team held firm, showing grit and determination to claim a hard-fought away point.

Speaking post match, Le Bris said: “It was a tough game but in the first half we had some good moments when we controlled the game. We struggled to cope with their direct play and the balance between controlling the ball and defending against this style.

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“The first part of the second half was interesting because we solved some problems, but when we played with 10 players it was interesting because we controlled that part of the game without conceding too many situations.

“We felt the team spirit and the willingness to fight together and in the end we deserved this point. It is important because we know it is such a long league – it is like a marathon.

“This experience will be very useful because we coped with it with great spirit. We need to have this kind of experience and this kind of answer. It wasn’t perfect but some of the moments in our game are still in progress.”