Sunderland 0 Albion 0 - Report and pictures
West Brom claimed a solid point from a bore draw at the Stadium of Light as Tony Pulis' good start to life as boss continued.
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He now has just one defeat in nine games as Baggies chief, after his side kept another clean sheet on Wearside.
But there was precious little entertainment on offer in a drab game and Sunderland felt the Baggies should have had Joleon Lescott sent off in the opening stages.
That moment of controversy came as early as the fifth minute, when referee Mike Jones had a key decision to make.
Jones initially turned down Sunderland appeals for a free-kick for a tug by Joleon Lescott on Danny Graham, only to change his mind on the advice of a linesman.
Having won the decision, Sunderland screamed for a red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity but referee Jones opted to book Lescott instead.
The game continued to be open but scrappy and without clear chances with a series of bookings the only notable incidents.
And Claudio Yacob was left fuming after being warned for allegedly holding Jermain Defoe at corners.
Albion: Foster, Dawson, McAuley, Lescott, Brunt, Morrison (Baird 73'), Fletcher, Yacob, Gardner (McManaman 87'), Ideye, Berahino.
Substitutes not used: Myhill, Wisdom, Olsson, Mulumbu, Sessegnon.
Sunderland: Pantilimon, Vergini (van Aanholt 87'), Reveillere, O'Shea, Brown, Cattermole, Larsson, Johnson, Alvarez (Fletcher 68'), Graham (Wickham 68'), Defoe.
Substitutes not used: Bridcutt, Gomez, Coates, Mannone
Referee: Mike Jones
Attendance: 40,943 [/breakout]
The nearest thing to a chance in the opening half-hour came when Defoe latched onto a poor pass from Albion skipper Darren Fletcher and fed Ricardo Alvarez, but the winger curled a shot just wide.
Three minutes before the end of a forgettable first half, Claudio Yacob tried his luck for the Baggies with a 25-yard shot after he had won possession from Alvarez.
Then Alvarez hit a long-range effort of his own but it flew well over. The game came to life in the final five minutes of the half.
First Adam Johnson latched onto a Alvarez pass and put the ball in the net, only to be flagged offside when replays showed Craig Dawson was playing him onside.
And then goalkeeper Ben Foster made a smart save to keep out Seb Larsson's long-range strike.
It took 16 minutes for anything of note to occur in the second half with Santiago Vergini rising above Joleon Lescott to meet a Larsson corner, but his header flew well wide of the far post.
The half continued to be flat but Sunderland did all of the pressing and left-back Anthony Reveillere went on a fantastic run, beating Fletcher, only for his cross to elude everyone in the Albion box.
Substitute Connor Wickham then had a near-post header from a Larsson corner blocked by Ben Foster in the Baggies goal.
Sunderland pumped balls into Albion's box late on but the Baggies stood firm.
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