Marcus Tavernier's first league goal sent Middlesbrough into the Sky Bet Championship's top five and left crisis club Sunderland rooted to the foot of the table following this 1-0 defeat.
The 18-year-old's sixth-minute finish settled a Tees-Wear clash short on genuine quality which extended the managerless Black Cats' run without a league win to 14 games.
Sunderland, with caretaker managers Billy McKinlay and Robbie Stockdale looking on, should have been ahead by the time Tavernier struck with Lewis Grabban failing to add to his tally of five goals in his last three games from close range.
But they eventually wilted and it was Boro who looked more likely to add to their tally as time ran down in front of a crowd of 29,277 at the Riverside Stadium.
Middlesbrough 1-0 Sunderland
