Middlesbrough 1 Sunderland 0: Boro grab unlikely lifeline in relegation dogfight

There were several brazen pre-match offerings. Derby of the doomed; wooden-spoon derby and – rather scornfully – donkey derby, all did the rounds, with the various suggestions bearing testimony to the dire predicament of Middlesbrough and Sunderland and the gallows humour being adopted on Teesside and Wearside.

It ensured that the usual rancour associated with this particular fixture was instead replaced by an overwhelming sense of apathy instead.

It was wholly understandable, given the decrepit campaigns at both the Riverside and Stadium of Light with it surely being a case of when, not if, both sides will be relegated from the Premier League and put out of their collective torment in order to hopefully regroup and start again.

What a difference to 12 months ago when Boro were full of expectancy and hope ahead of sealing their path back to the Premier League after a seven-year absence and Sunderland were fueling yet another Great Escape bid of which they have become fond of in recent times.

Nothing perhaps showcased the pair’s current plight more that the fact that they had claimed a combined total of one win from 31 top-flight fixtures since Christmas and it was easy to see why last night.

A thoroughly underwhelming derby at least offered the chance of one stricken side to perhaps reacquaint themselves with the wins column, although much of the smart money, understandably, was on a turgid 0-0 draw.

Marten De Roon’s early goal ensured Boro took the points to end their horrendous 16-match winless league streak and claim their maiden league victory of 2017 – and first one at the seventh time of asking under Steve Agnew – but it was the most unconvincing of wins and doubles over Sunderland.

There was relief at the final whistle with the hosts surviving following a tortuous, grim second half, but with it came the realisation that they are surely doomed along with their north-east neighbours to the second-tier.

The Teessiders may have cut the gap between themselves and fourth-from-bottom Yorkshire rivals Hull City to six points, but against far more accomplished opponents than Sunderland in the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool before season’s end, a Great Escape looks the longest of shots.

A half-time lead at home in the league – something that Boro had not managed since before Christmas – was the hosts’ reward for an at times vibrant first half, albeit aided by some wretched defending from the visitors.

A switch-off in communication between Billy Jones and John O’Shea was exposed by the hosts in the eighth minute, with a huge gap in the heart of the Black Cats defence exploited by De Roon.

The Dutchman, impressive in an advanced role behind Alvaro Negredo, latched onto a defence-splitting pass from Adam Clayton and after chesting the ball down, he stabbed the ball home past Jordan Pickford for his fifth goal of the campaign.

Sunderland failed to track De Roon’s runs all half and only a fine block from Pickford prevented a second for Boro after Stewart Downing cashed in on hesitancy from Jones and Jason Denayer.

The Wearsiders did show piecemeal improvement as the half went on and Brad Guzan had to be alert to beat away a swerving effort from Didier N’Dong.

Jermain Defoe, without a goal in his previous eight top-flight matches, did have one sniff of goal early on, but it was a half in which Boro possessed the most threat.

Sunderland showed traces of belief on the restart with Guzan making a key save to keep out Wahbi Khazri’s goalbound free-kick. But Boro, with numbers back behind the ball, just about held firm in an awful second-half.

Assuming command in central midfield was one thing, but Sunderland showed a painful lack of quality in the final third.

Sunderland fans showed what they thought of matters with a doleful chant of ‘Championship football is on its way back’ and given Boro’s unconvincing, nervy second-half fare when they created next to nothing, home supporters would have been given for joining in with a chant too.

It was their good fortune that they were taking on the bottom-placed side in the division.

The chants got darker from the visiting fans, and the Championship is pretty much nailed on to be the destination where both will reconvene in 2017-18.

Middlesbrough: Boro: Guzan; Chambers, Ayala (Fabio 54), Gibson, Friend; Forshaw, Clayton; Stuani, De Roon, Downing; Negredo (Gestede 75). Substitutes unused: Dimi, Bernardo, Fischer, Traore, Bamford.

Sunderland: Pickford; Jones, O’Shea, Denayer, Manquillo; N’Dong, Gibson (Borini 65), Cattermole (Rodwell 84); Khazri (Januzak 77), Defoe, Anichebe. Substitutes unused: Mannone, Pienaar, Lescott, Kone.

Referee: M Dean (Wirral).