Tony Mowbray suffered his first defeat as Sunderland boss against his former club Middlesbrough in the Tees-Wear derby at the Riverside Stadium.
Riley McGree scored what proved to be the winning goal for the hosts inside 25 minutes with his second goal of the season. Alex Pritchard fired an early chance over the crossbar, while Patrick Roberts had a penalty call turned down after going down in the box claiming he was tripped by Jonny Howson on the cusp of half-time.
Amad Diallo was introduced midway into the second half for his Sunderland debut but the Black Cats were unable to find an equaliser as Liam Roberts pushed Elliot Embleton's free-kick over the crossbar.