Coventry and Sunderland had to settle for a point as two of last season’s Championship play-off semi-finalists played out a 0-0 draw at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
It was a point that is likely to be more welcomed by the Black Cats as they continued to recover from losing their first two games of the season.
Sunderland’s Anthony Patterson was the goalkeeper who was called upon more often as the Sky Blues, still adjusting to the loss of key players during the summer, made it three games unbeaten.
Sunderland began brightly, with Bradley Dack miscuing wide after working his way into a good position before Trai Hume launched a long-range effort off target.
There were no clear openings, however, with the final pass lacking from both teams, although Kasey Palmer’s through ball meant for Matty Godden required Patterson to quickly come off his line and gather.
A ricochet from Ben Sheaf’s shot then presented half an opening for Godden, but he could not get any power on his effort and Patterson saved easily.
It was one of the few occasions either goalkeeper was called upon as chances remained at a premium, with defences very much on top.
An opening was finally fashioned by Coventry in the 44th minute when the ball was played through for Ellis Simms and the former Everton striker was denied by the legs of Patterson.
Both sides were hoping for more after a tepid first half, however, and it was Sunderland who made a lively start to the second as they worked Coventry keeper Ben Wilson for the first time after 49 minutes.
Dan Neil’s shot from just outside the area was parried out as far as Dennis Cirkin, who also found his route to goal blocked by Wilson.
Palmer then tried to force a breakthrough for the Sky Blues at the other end, but his shot on the turn from the edge of the box never looked like finding the target.
There was a much better tempo to the game now, though, and Palmer looked sharp again during a good run into the Sunderland area, only to shoot tamely at Patterson.
A raft of substitutions from both sides unfortunately hurt the flow, but Sheaf tried to seize the initiative for Coventry as he snatched a shot from outside the area wide.
Two of the Sky Blues’ substitutes then combined for the clearest opening of the match after 79 minutes as debutant Yasin Ayari, on loan from Brighton, played the ball through for Haji Wright, who was denied by a fine save from Patterson.
Giroud leaving Milan to join MLS at end of season
Olivier Giroud announced he will be leaving Milan to join the MLS at the end of the season when his contract expires.
The Frenchman joined the club in July 2021 from Chelsea, winning the Serie A title in his first season.
Giroud has scored 48 goals in 130 games in all competitions for Milan, netting 16 of those this season to help them to a second-place finish.
In an emotional interview with the club’s media channels, Giroud said: "I'm here to tell you that the next two games will be my last for Milan. My career will continue in MLS.
"I'm very proud of everything I've done here at Milan across three seasons. It's the right time to announce it. I'm a bit emotional. My story with Milan ends this season, but Milan will forever remain in my heart."
Though Giroud did not confirm which team he would be joining in the MLS, previous reports suggested he could be moving to LAFC to link up with his France international team-mate, Hugo Lloris.
Giroud leaving Milan at end of season to join MLS
Olivier Giroud announced he will be leaving Milan to join the MLS at the end of the season when his contract expires.
The Frenchman joined the club in July 2021 from Chelsea, winning the Serie A title in his first season.
Giroud has scored 48 goals in 130 games in all competitions for Milan, netting 16 of those this season to help them to a second-place finish.
In an emotional interview with the club’s media channels, Giroud said: "I'm here to tell you that the next two games will be my last for Milan. My career will continue in MLS.
"I'm very proud of everything I've done here at Milan across three seasons. It's the right time to announce it. I'm a bit emotional. My story with Milan ends this season, but Milan will forever remain in my heart."
Though Giroud did not confirm which team he would be joining in the MLS, previous reports suggested he could be moving to LAFC to link up with his France international team-mate, Hugo Lloris.
Vilahamn wants to use FA Cup final defeat as 'beginning' for Tottenham Women
Tottenham Women manager Robert Vilahamn believes his side will use their FA Cup final defeat to start something special, rather than ending their good work.
Spurs were hammered 4-0 by Manchester United Women in Sunday's Wembley Stadium showpiece as Ella Toone and Rachel Williams were on target before Lucia Garcia's second-half double.
Vilahamn's side failed to manage a shot on target but the Spurs boss suggested his team will catch up to the women's elite clubs.
"The main thing I said was this is not the end, it is the beginning," Vilahamn said.
"We still have a gap between us and the top teams but that's normal. We are closing the gap but we haven't closed the gap yet."
Tottenham finished sixth in the Women's Super League as well as reaching this final, their first FA Cup showpiece appearance in their short history.
Vilahamn wants his Spurs players to use this defeat as motivation going forward.
"If you take away the feelings right now, you need to look at these players doing some incredible things this year," he said.
"We are at Wembley playing in front of our fans and they are actually enjoying it and staying, and supporting us after.
"We got a good experience today and we are learning how to play at Wembley more times. We need to look at it that way because the players are amazing."
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