McCarthy under fire as Boro blitz Black Cats

Sunderland 0 Middlesbrough 3

It was a depressing defeat for manager Mick McCarthy, who found himself the target for disgruntled fans as they left the Stadium of Light.

The home side were hit with a sucker punch after just 13 minutes when Boro central defender Emanuel Pogatetz climbed above Steve Caldwell and Danny Collins to power a header in off the bar from a long-range Stewart Downing free-kick.

Worse was to follow 14 minutes before the break when Julio Arca lost possession to full-back Stuart Parnaby. He played the ball in to Viduka on the edge of the box and continued his run as the Australian laid it off perfectly for him to blast a low drive past Davis.

Anthony Le Tallec sent a 47th-minute glancing header across the face of goal as Sunderland rallied after the break, and Liam Lawrence tested keeper Mark Schwarzer with a curling 52nd-minute effort .

The clear cut chance Sunderland needed arrived on 59 minutes but Whitehead side-footed his shot over the crossbar from eight yards.

Caldwell could have got Whitehead off the hook four minutes later but he directed the ball straight at Schwarzer.

The cost of those misses became painfully apparent with 19 minutes remaining when Doriva robbed Tommy Miller and the ball broke for Mendieta, who picked out Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to hammer a shot past Davis.

SUNDERLAND: Davis, Danny Collins (Kyle 32), Caldwell, Breen, Hoyte, Arca, Miller, Whitehead, Lawrence, Stead (Daryl Murphy 78), Le Tallec.

MIDDLESBROUGH: Schwarzer, Taylor, Southgate, Pogatetz, Parnaby, Downing (Johnson 77), Cattermole, Doriva, Mendieta, Hasselbaink (Yakubu 79), Viduka (Davies 64).

Referee: A Wiley (Staffordshire).