Two rivers and only 30 miles separate Middlesbrough and Sunderland but there is some debate as to whether the Tees-Wear clash counts as a real derby. Judging by the dismissive attitude of the visiting fans as they alternated choruses of “We hate Newcastle” with “You’re just a small town in Yorkshire” it is not a top‑rank rivalry.
The good news was that no one seemed to have told the players. If regional bragging rights are not quite the be-all and end-all, the race for the playoffs most definitely is and the action was nothing if not intense.
Not that this draw exactly thrilled either side amid one of the tightest Championship promotion races in recent years. A point apiece leaves Sunderland slightly better off, occupying eighth position, just one point behind the sixth-placed Hull.
Charlton have appointed Nathan Jones as their new manager. The former Southampton head coach has signed a long-term contract, returning to management after being sacked by the Saints last February.
Jones takes over from Michael Appleton, who was sacked last month after a run of 10 matches without a win in League One. He arrives at the Valley with Charlton three points above the drop zone, their winless league run now extending to 12 games.
The 50-year-old, who enjoyed two successful spells at Luton either side of a 10-month stint with Stoke, also coached the Charlton Under-21s during the 2012/13 season.
"I am extremely excited by the challenge in front of me at Charlton," Jones, whose first game in charge is against Reading on Saturday, said. "It is a club that I have fond memories of from my time here and I want to play my part in moving the club forward.
"I have been approached by a number of clubs to get back into management, but I have been waiting for the right opportunity. From my conversations with the board and given the long-term nature of the contract, I can see there is a real appetite to build something here." PA Media
Middlesbrough, meanwhile, are 12th yet still only four points adrift of a playoff place after letting a lead, secured by a fine 61st‑minute volley from Marcus Forss, slip when their second‑choice goalkeeper, Tom Glover, allowed the substitute Nazariy Rusyn’s speculative late effort to slither through his fingers.
Michael Carrick, Boro’s manager, lost the bright young forward Morgan Rogers to Aston Villa in a £16m deal last month and the fear on Teesside is that the failure to secure a suitable replacement during an underwhelming transfer window at the Riverside could cost the club dear this spring. “We’re disappointed,” Carrick said. “We feel we could, and should, have won. We limited a good Sunderland team to next to nothing.”
His Wearside counterpart, Michael Beale, is hampered by a similar lack of attacking firepower as he strives to win the hearts and minds of a fanbase still upset by Tony Mowbray’s harsh sacking in December but, in introducing Rusyn, he made a game changing substitution.
“I think it’s a big point for us,” the Sunderland manager said. “You saw the good side and the indifferent side of our team today but we’re still evolving.”
An often desperately untidy end‑to‑end first half might have ended with the visitors in front. Yet, after being adroitly cued up by some stellar wingplay on Jack Clarke’s part, a shot from the menacing Abdoullah Ba was cleared off the line by Rav van den Berg.
Although Boro’s Finn Azaz had earlier missed a decent chance, a litany of slapdash final passes allied to a mutual lack of a proven central striker left Carrick and Beale frustrated. The latter will have been disappointed by slightly substandard performances from, among others, Jobe Bellingham and Pierre Ekwah.
Boro were missing their injured centre‑forward Emmanuel Latte Lath and the inspirational right‑winger Isaiah Jones. They compensated for those absences when Forss connected with the fallout from Sam Greenwood’s deflected shot after a short free-kick routine, took a high calibre steadying touch, swivelled sharply and lashed the ball past Anthony Patterson.
It was a tremendous finish that seemed just reward for the home team’s significantly enhanced degree of second‑half control but such authority remained fragile and, ultimately, evaporated.
Shortly after replacing Sunderland’s struggling central striker, the out of his depth Chelsea loanee Mason Burstow, Rusyn met Clarke’s raking crossfield pass. The Ukrainian watched in delight as the mortified Glover touched but could not hold his apparently ambitious half‑volley.
The Australian keeper was still beating the turf with his fists when Boro fans began pouring towards the exits. “It’s frustrating,” said Carrick, his ears presumably still ringing with the, albeit gentle, boos of those supporters who stuck around until the end. “We have to get better at taking our chances.”
