LONDON: Burnley's charge back towards the Premier League was slowed by Sunderland as a 0-0 draw at Turf Moor on Friday left Vincent Kompany's men still needing eight points to be sure of promotion.
That should still be a formality for the Clarets, with eight games remaining and could even be sealed over next weekend as they meet closest rivals Middlesbrough and Sheffield United.
But Kompany was left to consider a rare night where his team lacked a cutting edge in attack even as they extended their unbeaten run in the Championship to 18 games.
Burnley were thrashed 6-0 in their previous outing when Kompany returned to his former club Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
And they failed to score at home for the first time since City last visited almost exactly a year ago.
Indeed it was Sunderland who came closest to snatching a win that would have boosted their playoff hopes.
Amad Diallo struck the crossbar, via a deflection off Josh Cullen, with virtually his first touch after 68 minutes.
Jack Clarke also had the ball in the Burnley goal just before the final whistle but the effort was ruled out for offside against Abdoullah Ba.
A point leaves the Black Cats still in 11th, six points adrift of the top six. — BERNAMA