Sunderland vs Middlesbrough: Five memorable meetings at the Stadium of Light ahead of Championship fixture

Goals galore, super sub heroics and no shortage of red cards . . . modern-day Wear-Tees derbies have rarely failed to entertain.

And although Middlesbrough have generally proved tough opposition for Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, Tony Mowbray’s team can draw on some good memories of the Teessiders’ previous visits to Wearside.

Here we look back at the five most memorable of The Black Cats’ recent tussles with Boro in their own backyard.

22/01/2023 - Sunderland 2-0 Middlesbrough

We start with Sunderland’s 2-0 win against Michael Carrick’s Boro side in January. It was not short of drama with Dael Fry seeing red for Boro in the 49th minute after bringing down Ross Stewart inside the penalty box. The Scotsman saw Zack Steffen save his spot kick, but reacted quickly enough to tap in the rebound.

Manchester United loanee Amad Diallo doubled The Black Cats’ lead late on, providing a catalyst for Mowbray’s men to push on and clinch a Championship play-off spot.

24/02/18- Sunderland 3-3 Middlesbrough

Joel Asoro’s early opener for The Black Cats – bottom of the Championship table- was just the start of an entertaining, manic game which descended into near-chaos.

Sunderland defender Jake Clarke-Salter received the first red card of the game for a terrible challenge on Adama Traore. Traore then saw red himself for an apparent headbutt on Sunderland defender Bryan Oviedo.

A disastrous string of defensive errors early in the second half saw Middlesbrough score twice in the space of four minutes, with Patrick Bamford grabbing the first and former Sunderland man Grant Leadbitter coolly dispatching a penalty. Leadbitter would go on to rejoin The Black Cats the following summer following their relegation to League One.

Sunderland’s Jonny Williams soon slotted home an equaliser from Oviedo’s pass, only for Bamford to dance around Lee Camp to make it 3-2 in the 68^th minute.Many had given the game up by the time the clock ticked into the seventh minute of added time, but Callum McManaman popped up to volley home and claim a point.

20/09/2008- Sunderland 2-0 Middlesbrough

Two of today’s most well-known footballing faces were in the opposing dug-outs for this Premier League clash, with Roy Keane managing Sunderland manager and now England boss Gareth Southgate in charge of the visitors.

But the game looked like providing little else of note until one of the more unlikely impacts by a super-sub seen at the Stadium of Light. Michael Chopra – on at half-time for Finnish midfielder Teemu Tainio – came up trumps in the last 10 minutes in his first appearance of a season marred by off-field personal problems.

The former Newcastle striker ran on to a Kieran Richardson pass to fire Sunderland ahead in the 81^st minute, before tapping home a second as the game moved into added-time. Chopra would never score for Sunderland again, and this win also marked the high point of The Black Cats’ season, lifting them to sixth place in the table ahead of an eventual 16^th-place finish.

26/04/2008 - Sunderland 3-2 Middlesbrough

A last-minute winner earned The Black Cats three points in a pulsating contest which guaranteed Premier League survival for Roy Keane’s side.

Tuncay Sanli’s quickfire Boro opener was cancelled out only two minutes later by Danny Higginbotham’s header, before Keane’s men took the lead courtesy of Michael Chopra’s finish. Alfonso Alves levelled in the 73^rd minute for a Boro side who lost homegrown midfielder Lee Cattermole to injury early in the second half.

But Cattermole, who would go on to make more than 250 appearances for Sunderland, could only look on in despair from the bench as a stoppage-time goal from Daryl Murphy gave the home side all three points.

09/12/2000- Sunderland 1-0 Middlesbrough

The two sides met in a pre-festive clash in a season that saw Sunderland record their joint-highest finish in the club’s Premier League history.

The Black Cats came into the game with just one defeat in 15 games across all competitions and were eyeing a push for Europe in the new year. In contrast, Boro had claimed just one point in their previous eight games, leading to the departure of Bryan Robson and appointment of Terry Venables as permanent manager.

After a tight first half, Sunderland defender Michael Gray smashed the ball home from close range after the break for his first Black Cats goal in more than three years, lifting Peter Reid’s side up to fourth in the Premier League.