Making sense of Sunderland's controversial and bitterly disappointing defeat and what happens next

On the whole this has been a pretty positive block of fixtures for Sunderland.

The 5-0 win over Southampton sent them into the international break with real momentum and an opportunity to push themselves forward as genuine play-off contenders.

They have undoubtedly done just that, four wins from six fixtures leaving them sat fourth in an admittedly congested Championship table. Broadly speaking there is a consistency not just to their results but also to their performances, and that bodes well for the winter ahead.

Still, the fog of frustration from this defeat is likely to take a little while to clear even if the bigger picture is that Sunderland remain just about where they need to be at this stage.

The win over Watford had set Tony Mowbray’s side up perfectly for one last push before the break, but instead Middlesbrough’s visit turned out to be the most chastening afternoon of the campaign so far and by quite a distance at that.

Neither Mowbray nor Sunderland had underestimated Middlesbrough coming into the game, not just because they had won three in a row to flip their early season form, but because their pre-match analysis had left them convinced that this was a far truer reflection of their level than those poor initial results.

Unsurprisingly the first half played out as something of a stalemate, two sides who looked wary at all times of the threat the opposition posed. Both teams wanted to break quickly, both teams were doing everything to ensure they didn’t give up that space.

Middlesbrough started slightly the better, Sunderland then forged the better openings for a spell.

Michael Carrick’s side might have been the happier as the away side, but Sunderland would have felt they were relatively well placed before Jarred Gillett’s hugely controversial intervention on the stroke of half time. 

Such a decision will always evoke strong opinions, given the extent to which it shaped a fiercely contested local rivalry. And there can be no doubt that the directive to clubs and players ahead of this season was very clear. Gillett had already booked Sam Greenwood for dissent earlier in the half, and by protesting a decision even from a significant distance Dan Neil was taking a risk on a yellow card. Mowbray confirmed afterwards that Neil had also sworn, but not specifically at the referee himself. Mowbray’s view, not unreasonably, is that such emotion is natural in the heat of competition and anyone who has played sport at any level, never mind in a professional and highly-charged environment such as this one, would sympathise with that view.

The frustration from Sunderland’s side wasn’t just about the application rule itself. If the view across the game is that any dissent and any bad language is to be stamped out, then fair enough. A challenging target, but a reasonable one.

The frustration is that the strong directives not just around dissent but around timewasting, too, are simply not being applied consistently from one game to the next. As recently as Wednesday night, a Watford player already on a yellow ran over to remonstrate with the officiating team at length on the half-time whistle and yet no action was taken. In truth, this was probably the common-sense approach from the officials that Mowbray would have liked to have seen taken here. 

Here numerous players were also not punished despite clearly kicking the ball away after a free kick was given, despite the clear directive at the start of the campaign that this would be punished. Gillett also showed leniency in a number of other decisions where players on both sides might have seen yellow on another day. 

So for all this was without a doubt a harsh lesson learned for both Neil and his team mates, it also reflected a wider frustration watching football this season. Are we applying the new rules, or are we not? At the moment, no one seems to know where they stand and there is no level of consistency. 

From Neil’s dismissal Sunderland were facing an uphill battle and though Mowbray said he would not dwell on that second half too much, he also pointedly told his players in the dressing room afterwards that they had perhaps learned here that they need to give more when reduced to ten.

Few would have expected them to resist a side as good as Middlesbrough in possession for 45 minutes but in truth, they were unable to offer any resistance almost from the moment the second half began.

Middlesbrough played through Sunderland’s midfield at will, and there likely was a relatively straightforward reason for that. Central midfield looked the one position where the Black Cats were left a little vulnerable off the back of the transfer window, and Pierre Ekwah’s injury meant Neil was already the last man standing. Mowbray sacrificed Mason Burstow to try and bolster his side at the break but looking at his bench there was nothing in the way of experience of real discipline in a midfield role. Roberts, Jobe, Aouchiche and Clarke all have immense qualities as footballers but for this situation, it was never going to be the right balance. Generally Sunderland’s structure has been excellent this season and vindicated the decision to trust Neil, Ekwah and Jobe, but it may well be the case that this gamble is tested again before the return of Corry Evans and the January transfer window.

Middlesbrough, to their credit, sensed the moment and lifted the intensity almost immediately. The circumstances had changed in their favour, but they exploited that ruthlessly and with some impressive attacking play. 

To say there is no need for an overreaction on Wearside would be an understatement. On an equal footing Sunderland had again competed well with a side expected to challenge in the upper reaches of the table this season, and there is no reason to think that won’t be the case after the international break. Mowbray might even have better options after that break, with a number of senior players expected to return.

This wasn’t a season-defining loss, but like that defeat to Stoke City earlier in the year, it was undoubtedly one where the pain will linger for a while yet.