Ferguson satisfied after Mackems test

Sunderland 0, Manchester United 0

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson pronounced himself content with a draw after seeing his side survive a first–half battering at Sunderland.

The Red Devils battled their way to a 0–0 draw at the Stadium of Light with goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar denying Steed Malbranque and Bolo Zenden hitting a post as the Black Cats dominated before the break.

Either side might have snatched victory, but boss Ferguson was happy enough with a point against the Mackems, their fourth successive Barclays Premier League draw on the road.

Sunderland largely controlled the first half and would have been ahead with 16 minutes gone had Van der Sar not pulled off a fine save.

The Dutchman (39) denied Malbranque after he had been played in by Lee Cattermole's excellent through–ball.

But the woodwork came to United's rescue eight minutes before the break when Zenden's long–range strike came back off the post.

Ferguson, who had left Wayne Rooney at home and Dimitar Berbatov on the bench, replaced the ineffectual Michael Owen with the Bulgarian at half–time and his side immediately looked more threatening. Berbatov had a 48th–minute strike correctly ruled out for offside.

And he fired just wide with 10 minutes to go after Simon Mignolet had beaten away Nani's dipping effort.