Middlesbrough and Sunderland went head-to-head at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon.
Michael Carrick’s men headed into the game on the back of a string of disappointing results.
Middlesbrough drew 1-1 with Preston North End in the previous game, meaning they had earned just two wins from their opening five fixtures.
Sunderland were expected to prove a stern test for the Teessiders as well, with Regis Le Bris’ men second in the Championship table prior to kick-off.
Sunderland took the lead in the 24th minute after George Edmundson’s interception took the ball away from Seny Dieng and into the path of Chris Rigg, who tapped into an open goal.
Middlesbrough had a few decent chances to score with Tommy Conway and Matt Clarke both missing free headers but it was another frustrating afternoon for the Teessiders.
Here’s how the players rated-
Seny Dieng – 6
Could do little about the opener as Edmundson’s tackle took the ball away from him. Distribution was subpar at times.
Luke Ayling – 6
Didn’t do an awful lot wrong defensively but Carrick will want to see a lot more from Ayling at the other end of the pitch going forward after showing what he is capable of in that regard last season.
George Edmundson – 6
Some Boro fans may blame the centre-back for the opener but Edmundson had to make that tackle to prevent the ball falling to one of several Sunderland players in the box. He did little else wrong.
Matt Clarke – 6
Missed a free header early in the first half and was caught out of position a couple of times but was largely decent.
Neto Borges – 3
Was poor defensively, struggling to deal with Patrick Roberts and though he got forward on plenty of occasions, Borges failed to provide much of an effective attacking threat.
Aidan Morris – 7
Morris’ tireless work-rate was on full display throughout the 90 minutes. He tracked every runner and made some crucial tackles and blocks.
Hayden Hackney – 6
A fairly quiet showing from the Redcar-born star. Hackney had a couple of long-range efforts but did not offer much in the final third.
Isaiah Jones – 5
Jones’ end product continues to be an issue, with his decision-making in the final third costing Middlesbrough a few chances versus Sunderland.
Tommy Conway – 5
Missed a massive chance to put Boro in front after three minutes when he put a free header onto the crossbar. Continued to threaten when dropping between defenders but was nowhere near his best.
Finn Azaz – 5
An unfortunately familiar story for Azaz who is much, much weaker when playing off the left, as he did on Saturday.
Emmanuel Latte Lath – 5
Made a couple of runs in behind but his impact was minimal thanks to Sunderland’s defenders largely marking him out of the game.