Ten-man Sunderland were blown away by Middlesbrough as Dan Neil’s dismissal on the stroke of half-time proved pivotal. The Black Cats were the better side in the first half but all that changed after Neil was dismissed after picking up a second yellow card for dissent.
Boro scored twice in as many minutes around the hour mark, with former Sunderland academy man Sam Greenwood putting them ahead and Matt Crooks adding the second. Isaiah Jones added the third goal with a little under 20 minutes to go, and substitute Marcus Forss completed the rout in the final minute of the 90.
For Boro, it was their biggest-ever win on Wearside, and Michael Carrick’s side continues to climb the table after a fourth successive victory following their poor start. Tony Mowbray’s Sunderland were unable to stretch their winning streak to three games, but will go into the international break in a play-off position.
Conceded four but made a series of saves to prevent the damage becoming even worse
Started back on the right but this was not one of his better games. Later shifted to the left when Huggins went off
Worked hard alongside Ballard but in the second half Boro were relentless
Sunderland’s man of the match, he made countless blocks and interventions to keep the score down
