Northampton Town manager Keith Curle says the point secured against Sunderland on Saturday was a very creditable result for this side.
The Cobblers matched one of League 1's fancied teams, in a battling performance that pleased the Cobblers boss.
"We were competitive in the game against a side with a lot of quality," he said.
"They haven't lost away from home this season and they have the best defensive record in the league, so it shows they are a hard side to break down. To make sure we were in the game we needed to be hard to break down too and we defended our goal and protected our goalkeeper well.
"We had conceded ten goals in three games before last week and we had to tighten up. Lloyd Jones and Alan Sheehan coming back have helped, Shaun McWilliams has been good to have back in midfield, we missed him protecting the back three and I think our front two, Benny Ashley-Seal and Danny Rose, have been excellent. When we can get most of our players fit on a regular basis we can be competitive in this league."