Middlesbrough began their climb away from the Championship relegation zone with a 1-0 win over Sunderland at the Riverside Stadium.
Chris Wilder’s side had dropped into the bottom three after just one win from the opening seven, but Riley McGree’s strike after 25 minutes was enough to seal another and see Boro claim the bragging rights in the first Tees-Wear derby since February 2018.
They climb up to 17th as a result, with Sunderland remaining in eighth, two points outside the top six with eight games played.
How Middlesbrough took the bragging rights at the Riverside
With Middlesbrough lingering at the wrong end of the table, they displayed a real early intensity that put Sunderland on the back foot from the off.
The Black Cats were forced a late system change due to an injury to top scorer Ross Stewart in the warm-up, yet it was lone frontman Ellis Simms who almost set up the opener, with his dangerous square ball lifted over the bar by Alex Pritchard from just inside the box.
Before long, Isaiah Jones began to cause problems with his intelligent pull-backs from the right, but it was, in fact, left wing-back Ryan Giles that played a key role in the game’s only goal.
The Wolves loanee delivered a wicked ball in, which McGree expertly took away from Danny Batth, before sweeping the ball home with some inadvertent help from Sunderland’s Luke O’Nien.
In the final minute of first-half stoppage time, Sunderland were denied a penalty when Patrick Roberts went over in the box under the challenge of Jonny Howson. Darren Bond ignored appeals, with replays showing any contact with the forward was made outside the box.
The visitors began to take control of possession and get the ball into dangerous areas after the break, but it was a fleeting revival that failed to produce an equaliser, with Jack Clarke disappointing when cutting in off the left.
With Boro having conceded twice in second-half stoppage time already this season, they needed to hold firm in the closing stages, but aside from an overcooked effort from Simms from a tight angle, there was little effort required.
Man of the match – Isaiah Jones
What’s next?
Both teams are back in action at 3pm on Saturday September 10. Middlesbrough travel to Bloomfield Road to take on Blackpool, while Sunderland welcome Millwall to the Stadium of Light.