'Tony Mowbray's red and white army,' sang the Roker End late in the game as Sunderland closed in on a deserved win against Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light. 'Tony, Tony, give us a wave,' they implored, until Mowbray obliged.
For the Boro fans perched high in the North Stand, it was a twist of the knife. Their team had been outplayed, reduced to ten men, was trailing 2-0, and now Boro's homegrown hero - a former captain and manager no less - was being serenaded by supporters of the team they regard as their derby rivals.
It was the kind of day they will want to forget in a hurry. As for Sunderland, this was a statement of intent.
READ MORE: Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray gives glowing verdict on Manchester United loanee Amad
A sign of how far they have come. In the fixture at the Riverside Stadium back in early September, Mowbray's second game in charge, Sunderland were second best - not least because their talismanic striker Ross Stewart had pulled out after suffering a thigh injury in the warm up, and without him they looked toothless.
Fast-forward a little over four months and Sunderland were the better team by a distance. Yes, Dael Fry's red card early in the second half made a difference, not least because it also led to a penalty which resulted, after a fashion, in the opening goal.
But the fact is that Sunderland were superior even when it was still 11-vs-11, and they could easily have been three or four goals in front by half-time with Stewart having a couple of chances, while Amad and Patrick Roberts had one apiece. As it was, Fry fouled Stewart as the Sunderland man left him trailing in his wake as they chased a ball into the Boro penalty area, and the contact continued to the point where the striker reached the 18-yard line.
Fry was sent off, and penalty awarded. Boro boss Michael Carrick complained about both decisions afterwards, but the replays backed the referee's judgement.
Stewart's penalty was saved by Zak Steffen, but he tucked away the rebound to score his tenth Championship goal of the season. Amad, Roberts, and Jack Clarke had been a constant menace throughout, and in the final ten minutes Amad added the second goal to ensure the scoreline better reflected the game.
Just as Sunderland had looked blunt in front of goal back in September, so Boro did in the return game. Credit for that should go to centre-backs Dan Ballard and Danny Batth who, along with full-backs Trai Hume and Aji Alese, kept Matt Crooks, Marcus Forss, and the in-form Chuba Akpom in check.
Boro's best chance had come in the first half when Forss brought a fine save out of Anthony Patterson. For Sunderland, the win lifted the Black Cats to ninth in the table and brought them to within a point of the play-off places, while for sixth-placed Boro defeat ended their four game winning streak in the league and left them just that single point above the Wearsiders.
In their respective post-match interviews, Mowbray was asked about Sunderland's play-off chances and it was notable that Mowbray was happy to keep the play-off talk low-key. But as the weeks tick by and Sunderland remain in and around the chasing pack, the volume of that chatter will only increase.
Whether they get there or not, this is still shaping up to be an excellent first season back in the Championship after four years spent in League One.
READ NEXT:
- Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray keen to keep a lid on play-off talk despite Middlesbrough win
- Sunderland's Ross Stewart admits luck was on his side as he notched his tenth Championship goal
- Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray's reaction to the win over Middlesbrough as he issues injury update
- Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick unhappy with key decisions in Sunderland defeat
- Sunderland player ratings as Amad, Ross Stewart and Dan Neil among star men in Middlesbrough win
