DAN Neil believes Sunderland’s highly excellent win at Middlesbrough bolstered their promotion aspirations, and he was glad to banish the ghost of his red card woes against the same opponents last season.
In the October 2023 match at the Stadium of Light, Boro dominated after Neil was sent off in the first half.
But fast forward 15 months, and Neil has played a key role in Sunderland’s 20-year wait for a win on Teesside, as well as passing what the midfielder believes will be one of their toughest tests in the Championship promotion race.
“I think last year at home, I got a lot of stick for that (red card), so I’m happy to do the double on them this year, because like I said, it’s a really tough place to come, and we’ve struggled here the last two years,” said Neil, who cupped his ears to the Boro fans as he celebrated the goal that cancelled out Delano Burgzorg’s opener.
“We got a point last year. We definitely didn’t earn a point last year, but tonight I think we deserved all three, and it could have been more.”
Boro’s home record this season isn’t spectacular, but Neil still believes the Riverside is a difficult place to visit, and, for the second time this season, praised his team’s spirit for digging deep.
Sunderland came back from a 1-0 deficit to lead 2-1, then recovered from Hayden Hackney’s equaliser to win late on thanks to Ryan Giles’ own goal.Sunderland fought back from 1-0 down to lead 2-1, and then recovered from Hayden Hackney’s equaliser to win it late on thanks to Ryan Giles’ own-goal.
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