Sunderland played out a 1-1 draw with fellow play-off contenders Millwall at The Den on Saturday.

The Lions thought they had taken the lead in the first half when George Honeyman slotted home from close range after Anthony Patterson spilled Zian Flemming's strike, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

Gary Rowett's side did go ahead in the 59th minute through Jake Cooper, but the visitors equalised when Dennis Cirkin headed home Alex Pritchard's free-kick to secure a share of the spoils.

Tony Mowbray's men extended their unbeaten away run to nine games and move up to ninth in the Championship table, two points from the play-off places.

Here are three things we learned about the Black Cats after the stalemate.

Character on display

It has been a tough time for Sunderland lately, having lost two key players in Corry Evans and Ross Stewart for the rest of the season through injury, while they also failed to bring in another striker in the transfer window.

Travelling to face a notoriously hard to beat Millwall side in the hostile environment of The Den, it would have been easy for the visitors to collapse, particularly after falling behind.

But they showed excellent character to get themselves back in the game, with Cirkin stepping up to provide the goal in Stewart's absence, although there are concerns about the defender after he injured himself in the process.

Mowbray's side coped admirably without their talisman earlier in the season and on this evidence, they are capable of doing the same again.

Change of fortunes needed

If there is one side who deserves a little bit of luck in the Championship, it is surely Sunderland.

Evans and Stewart's season-ending injuries have further stretched an already depleted squad, with Alex Pritchard, Lyndon Gooch and Elliot Embleton also currently sidelined, while Cirkin could now be added to the list of absentees.

Mowbray will have been desperate for something to go in his side's favour and perhaps it did with the controversial decision to rule out Honeyman's goal, which left Rowett fuming.

Play-off credentials underlined

This was another afternoon where the Black Cats more than matched one of their fellow top six hopefuls.

It should not be forgotten that Sunderland are a newly-promoted side, but they have more than held their own at this level and once again showed they are very much in play-off contention here with a resolute display.

After the derby win over Middlesbrough, a hard-fought point against the Lions was the perfect way to follow it up, with their current unbeaten away run showing the kind of resilience that will be needed if they are to maintain their promotion push.