Daniel Stendel says the 0-0 draw is a better result for his Barnsley side than their visitors Sunderland. 

The result keeps the second-placed Reds four points clear of the third-placed Black Cats, who have a game in hand.

Stendel said: “We were a little bit better than Sunderland but in the end it is a draw and we keep the gap. The goal was to win but we are satisfied. Sunderland are good team and you can see we both have a chance to finish in the top two. I think the draw helps us more than it helps Sunderland. It is in our hands.”

Barnsley had the best chances of the first half, with Mamadou Thiam going close twice with the strong wind in the hosts’ favour, but Sunderland missed the bigger opportunities after the interval when the wind was behind the visitors. 

Stendel said: “It was the close game we expected. In the first half, we had chances to go in front two times from Mamadou. We could have used the wind more in the first half by shooting more from distance. 

“With the difficult conditions, it was different second half. Sunderland had the wind and they played a lot of long balls. They had two good chances.”

Cauley Woodrow had a goal ruled out on 69 minutes. Stendel said: “I have trust the referees and I think it was offside.”

The attendance was the biggest of the season with 18,282 at Oakwell including 4,445 away fans. Stendel said: “I enjoyed the atmosphere and I told the players that is why we play football. It was special and the player needed ten or 15 minutes to get used to it. We had big chances in the first half to score in front of the Sunderland fans but we did not score them.”