With his back-heeled winner, Chris Rigg, 17, cemented himself in Wear-Tees derby legend, helping Sunderland defeat Championship rivals Middlesbrough 1-0.
His deft finish in the twenty-fourth minute put the home team ahead in a close match, helping them to move past the setback they suffered at Plymouth the previous weekend and resume their strong start to the season.
Unlike Regis Le Bris’ team, the Teessiders fought until the very end at the Stadium of Light, but they were unable to find a way to gain an advantage in the game.
Tommy Conway, a forward for Boro, had a chance to score from Isaiah Jones’ cross in the fifth minute, but his header struck the crossbar.
After Eliezer Mayenda had cut inside George Edmundson, it took a deft move by Luke Ayling on the other end to stop him.
Both teams wasted possession as they tried to build momentum; Boro in particular was guilty of turning the ball over deep in their own half, but Patrick Roberts’ dangerous charge into the box was stopped by an excellent challenge from Aidan Morris. Within seconds, the visitors were made to pay as Boro defender Matt Clarke wasted a clear header from a Finn Azaz corner in the 24th minute.
Edmundson had misdirected goalie Seny Dieng by partially blocking Roberts’ shot.
Seizing the rebound, Rigg boldly backheeled the ball into the net while the angle continued to work against him.
The Black Cats took a bit of the game by storm as Trai Hume streaked past from long range and Romaine Mundle cut inside to shoot Dieng in the midriff.
Referee Simon Hooper waived aside Mundle’s shouts for a penalty following Ayling’s reckless challenge, and when the visitors sped away, Latte Lath missed a lob. This led to a contentious end to the first half.
With the home team attempting to end the match, Roberts curled a shot just wide of Dieng’s far post in the 51st minute. However, Boro substitute Ben Doak forced a hasty clearing by debutant Chris Mepham in the 66th minute after being given into space by Conway’s deft pass.
Boro’s desperation was evident when Morris sliced a left-foot drive wide of Anthony Patterson’s right post. Although they managed to generate some momentum, they continually over-extended in the final third, and Mundle’s free-kick in the 79th minute may have made things worse for them.
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