FREDDIE WOODMAN has played more games for Preston North End this season than he managed in more than a decade at Newcastle United.

"I went up there at 14,” he said after defying a deluge of Sunderland’s crosses and mishits and the occasional shot to claim his eighth clean sheet in 12 games since finally quitting Tyneside in the summer. “When I left there, I had played in the Premier League. I am really happy. I was buzzing to sign for Preston and I am still buzzing now. It is a brilliant football club, and I love playing football."

Woodman was still booed by home fans from the start, and it was inevitable he would have a significant role to play in Preston’s impressive defensive run and a frustrating afternoon for Sunderland and their manager, Tony Mowbray.

The Preston keeper can do little about his team-mates' lack of goals at the other end - they have still only scored three league goals - but he is the safe hands behind a formidable and determined wall. And he rather enjoyed his first visit to the Stadium of Light.

And after receiving a number of messages from those across the Tyne before the game, he was no doubt kept occupied over the weekend by a deluge of Geordie delight.

Sunderland, who had scored five in Mowbray’s impressive first two away matches, dominated, but a combination of wayward finishing, determined defending and Woodman kept them at bay.

He clawed away the first cross from Jack Clarke before Aji Alese created an opening for Alex Pritchard, who shot wide and made one solid stop to deny Elliot Embleton from close range before the lively Clarke fired two shots across his goal and Patrick Roberts delightfully nutmegged Greg Cunningham but then lashed his shot across the face of goal again.

Mowbray threw on Amad Diallo and Jewison Bennette, who tested Woodman with a couple of efforts. He comfortably gathered a low long-range shot from Roberts and made a late brave one-handed save to deny Diallo, who was inches away from making a decisive touch to slip home Bennette’s mis-hit shot towards an empty goal.

Ryan Lowe’s side had their chances too. Sunderland keeper Anthony Patterson made one instinctive save to keep out Ched Evans’ firm shot and Alese cleverly clipped Ben Whiteman’s volley off the line before Lynden Gooch booted away a late Evans header by the post.

Woodman said: “Sunderland fans probably don’t like me and I don’t like Sunderland much! But fair play to Sunderland fans, they were fantastic, and our fans too. It was a special atmosphere.

“I had a few of my mates from up the road in Newcastle messaging me with nice words of encouragement. I can’t say what they said but a said to do the Shearer celebration, but I was never going to do that!

“Some nice words and it was nice to be in contact with Newcastle fans.

“In football things happen and you move on and get on with it. I can’t be grateful enough to Newcastle for giving me a chance and turning me from a boy to a man.”

Like his manager, Sunderland defender Luke O'Nien was keen to move on from the set-back which pushed Sunderland to seventh. The Black Cats welcome Blackpool to the Stadium of Light tomorrow and Ross Stewart and Ellis Simms will still be missing.

O'Nien's own determined performance helped the home side to a fourth clean sheet in seven games and Preston's Lancashire rivals will be a similarly robust test for Sunderland's lively and skilful forward players.

He said: "We have to give our forward players a base by keeping a clean sheet and we did that.

"I feel that we created the chance and it didn't quite go in for us but it's good point against a team who haven't conceded many.

"We couldn't quite break them down but we look back on that and see how we can improve and we will attack Tuesday. I'm looking forward to it."