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.