Ross content with point on tough night

Jack Ross said he was satisfied after Sunderland came away from Oakwell last night with a point.

The Black Cats’ long run of scoring in every game of the season came to an end at a ground where the impressive Barnsley have not lost all season.

Sunderland remain four points off Daniel Stendel’s side, but still have a game in hand.

Ross said the conditions, with winds raging throughout, made life difficult for both sides, particularly Sunderland in the first half.

“Barnsley would have wanted to win the game, we did too, a lot of the planning goes out the window in conditions like tonight, it was incredibly difficult,” he said.

“It was really tough to play in it, especially first half. We will take the point and move on, we will be satisfied with the point. It was probably as difficult as we have played in all season.

“When you get a wind it can swirl but when it is as direct as that, Jon’s kicks were almost coming back at him, it helped Barnsley in that first half and it was a big out to come away level terms at half-time.

“It was not easy in an attacking sense after that either, it was a determining factor, you can see the amount of times normal passes went out of play.”

Ross admits the draw makes life tougher for Sunderland as they chase automatic promotion, but they remain very much in the hunt.

The Black Cats boss also warned against ruling Portsmouth out of the race, after they beat Walsall 3-2.

“Portsmouth are not far away either, three teams in this league have had unbelievable seasons,” Ross said. “We have come to a team that has not lost at home, like we haven’t, on a good run.

“So it is not easy, far from it, it makes it even more challenging to gain automatic promotion but we have kept ourselves in it.”