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Sunderland 0-3 MiddlesbroughPA
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Middlesbrough eased their relegation fears by gaining
revenge over Sunderland with a 3-0 win - nudging their hosts ever
closer to the Barclays Premiership trapdoor.
MatthewLewis/GettyImages
Mark Viduka battles Gary Breen
The Black Cats were simply outclassed by their local rivals - one
of only two sides they have beaten in the league this season - to
leave their long-suffering fans knowing another season in the Coca-Cola
Championship is inevitable.
Central defender Emanuel Pogatetz headed the visitors in front
with just 13 minutes gone with his first strike for the club, and
when full-back Stuart Parnaby drove home his maiden Premiership
goal 18 minutes later, the game was effectively over.
Mick McCarthy's men rallied briefly after the break and had either
Dean Whitehead or Steve Caldwell taken the chances that came their
way, they might have forced their way back into it.
But their lack of finishing power was cruelly punished by Jimmy
Floyd Hasselbaink 19 minutes from time when he blasted a shot past
the helpless Kelvin Davis.
It was Boro's first league win in 10 attempts and Sunderland's
18th defeat in 23 Premiership games this season, but one of the
most depressing for a manager who found himself the target for disgruntled
fans among a crowd of 31,675 as they left the Stadium of Light.
The home side were hit with a sucker punch with just 13 minutes
gone when Pogatetz, playing as a central defender in the absence
of the injured Chris Riggott and Ugo Ehiogu, climbed high above
Steve Caldwell and Danny Collins to power a header in off the bar
from a long-range Stewart Downing free-kick.
Worse was to follow 14 minutes before the break when Julio Arca,
who was struggling to force his way into the game, lost possession
down the left for Parnaby to race away.
He played the ball in to Viduka on the edge of the box and continued
his run as the Australian laid it off perfectly for him to blast
a low drive past Davis.
McCarthy immediately withdrew Collins and threw striker Kevin Kyle
into a three-man front line, but their recovery effort was disjointed
and they left the pitch at half-time to a loud chorus of boos.
Anthony Le Tallec sent a 47th-minute glancing header across the
face of goal as Sunderland rallied immediately after the break,
and Lawrence tested keeper Mark Schwarzer for the first time with
a curling 52nd-minute effort from distance.
However, their plight might have worsened a minute later when Pogatetz
almost got on the end of Viduka's flick-on from a Downing free-kick.
The clear cut chance Sunderland needed arrived on 59 minutes when
Liam Lawrence, Jon Stead and Le Tallec combined to set up Whitehead
eight yards out.
But as the home fans waited for the net to bulge, the midfielder
side-footed his shot over the crossbar to let Boro off the hook.
Caldwell could have got Whitehead off the hook four minutes later
when the midfielder's free-kick ricocheted off the defensive wall
and dropped to his right foot, but he directed the ball straight
at Schwarzer.
The cost of those misses became painfully apparent with 19 minutes
remaining when Doriva robbed Tommy Miller in the middle of the park
and the ball broke for Mendieta, who needed little time to pick
out Hasselbaink to hammer a first-time shot past Davis.
Large sections of the home support started to head for the exits
with some hurling their season tickets towards McCarthy as he stood
outside the dug-out.
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