Chris Mepham made his full debut at the Stadium of Light after Regis Le Bris named Dan Ballard on the substitute’s bench.
Ballard suffered an ankle injury in the latter stages of the defeat to Plymouth Argyle last weekend and though he was passed fit to play, he only returned to training in the latter stages of this week. Le Bris opted to go with Mepham as a result, with Ballard offering cover on the bench. Ian Poveda was still absent with a thigh injury.
Le Bris opted not to bring Adil Aouchiche or Abdoullah Ba back into the fold despite Alan Browne and Poveda’s absence, with a number of academy players named on the bench in their stead.
Neither Rav van den Berg nor Jonny Howson were passed fit to play for the visitors. Michael Carrick made just one change to his starting XI, bringing Aidan Morris in ahead of Dan Barlaser who was on the bench.
Chris Rigg gave Sunderland the lead in the first half with a delightful back-heeled finish and Sunderland were able to hang on to the win to make it 15 points from their opening six games.
Here, we take a look at the best photos of fans throughout the day:
1. Sunderland fans
Sunderland faced Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon - and our cameras were in attendance | Frank Reid
2. Sunderland fans
Sunderland faced Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon - and our cameras were in attendance | Frank Reid
3. Sunderland fans
Sunderland faced Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon - and our cameras were in attendance | Frank Reid
4. Sunderland fans
Sunderland faced Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon - and our cameras were in attendance | Frank Reid