Sunderland 3, Middlesbrough 2

Apr 28 2008 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

THE glass of champagne remained un-sipped at the bar and the back-slapping never really started. The sense of satisfaction was short-lived and the celebrations were muted and brief. Welcome to Roy Keane’s Premier League survival party.

When Sunderland’s manager toasted his side’s achievement with chairman Niall Quinn, it was done with a cup of tea in the boardroom rather than a glass of bubbly. While others reflected on the drama of a successful safety mission and the memorable derby win over Middlesbrough which achieved it, Keane was already looking ahead to what needs to be done before the start of next season.

While others gulped down alcohol in celebration and congratulated the manager and players for avoiding another immediate return to the Championship, Keane’s only thirst was for assurances about the future. Only time will tell whether Quinn has managed to quench it long enough for his manager to sign a new contract.

Keane is a clever man and a natural leader. He was an excellent player and he is proving to be an excellent manager. But Sunderland’s manager is also showing signs of being an astute politician. As a snarling and snapping midfielder with Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, Keane would have looked about as comfortable alongside the suits and briefcases of the boardroom as pop star Amy Winehouse during a spell of rehab.

But, since his switch to the dugout less than two years ago, he has adapted to his new surroundings and learnt some important lessons. Always negotiate from a position from strength, always look for the maximum return and always demand the best.

Keane joked after Daryl Murphy’s injury-time winner on Saturday that he would be searching for Quinn and chief executive Peter Walker that evening to discuss how much he wanted for summer signings. At least he smiled when he said it, although he could have been deadly serious. Keane likes keeping people on their toes and that includes his chairman and the investors who make up the Drumaville Consortium which has financed the revolution he leads.

Mission one was getting Sunderland into the Premier League, mission two was to keep them there. Mission three, well mission three will depend on what happens in the summer and Keane wants to know what sort of financial backing he is going to get before he embarks on it. Given everything he has achieved since he arrived at the Stadium of Light, it would be a brave man who denies him everything he asks for over the next few days.

For now, however, those who follow the club through thick and thin should be able to celebrate safety and a derby win which will at least go some way to making up for last weekend’s dismal surrender to Newcastle United. That defeat led to a level of criticism Keane has never experienced before as a manager, but it is typical of the man and the team he has constructed that they came back fighting.

It is difficult not to have sympathy for Middlesbrough and their likeable manager Gareth Southgate as a draw may well have been a fair result, especially as a point for both sides would have virtually assured safety for both.

Instead, Boro still have to make certain of their Premier League status at home to either Portsmouth or Manchester City, while Sunderland can turn their attention to the business of preparing for next year’s more ambitious assault on the Premier League. It did not look as though that would be the case after just four minutes at the Stadium of Light as Boro’s bright start was rewarded with the lead when Afonso Alves flicked on a long ball forward into the path of Tunçay Sanli, who finished well past Craig Gordon.

Given the events of the previous weekend, when an early goal for Newcastle had crushed Sunderland’s confidence, the Black Cats’ recovery was impressive and quick. Boro goalkeeper Brad Jones’ poor punch failed to clear the danger from a corner kick and when Danny Collins swung in a cross, an unmarked Danny Higginbotham planted a firm header into the far corner for his second derby goal of the season.

Tunçay might have restored the visitors’ lead just before the half-hour mark but his header, from a Stewart Downing cross, bounced just wide of the post.

That enabled Michael Chopra to put Sunderland in front just before half-time, latching on to a long ball forward from Dean Whitehead, twisting past David Wheater and then thumping a left-footed shot into the top corner.

It was Chopra’s third goal in six games, and the striker, who may still leave the club in the summer as the Geordie has not been guaranteed a regular place in attack, has played a vital role in keeping the Black Cats up.

Middlesbrough, though, came back again in a game that throbbed with desire and determination, but pined for some quality on the ball.

Whitehead and Gordon had both done well to keep out Downing, but when Julio Arca’s follow-up shot took a deflection, Alves was able to steer it home for the equaliser.

Some sides may well have been content with the point which would have given them an excellent chance of avoiding the drop, but not Sunderland.

After so many late goals – starting on the first day against Tottenham – it was fitting their safety was assured with an injury-time header from Murphy, who nodded home Grant Leadbitter’s corner.