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| September 26, 2005 | Monday | Sha'aban 21, 1426 |
Long wait over for Sunderland
LONDON, Sept 25: Sunderland ended their long wait for a Premier League victory with a surprise 2-0 win at Middlesbrough in a passionate northeast derby on Sunday. Tommy Miller fired them into a second minute lead at the Riverside and they weathered the storm to add a killer second goal when Argentine midfielder Julio Arca curled home a superb free kick on the hour mark.
Sunderland, who have spent the past two seasons in the second tier of English football, last won a League game in Dec 2002.
They had suffered a record 20 consecutive top-flight defeats before a 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion in their last league game, denied victory only by a stoppage-time equaliser.
Saturday’s action had been dominated by the top clubs, with Chelsea making a record start.
The champions clocked up their seventh consecutive win, coming from behind to beat Aston Villa 2-1.
Manchester United were stunned by a 2-1 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers and are 10 points behind Chelsea while Arsenal are 11 points adrift after drawing 0-0 at West Ham.
Arsenal, like United, have a game in hand on the champions — as do second-placed Charlton Athletic on 15 points after their 2-1 win at West Brom.
At the wrong end of the table, Sunderland’s win has handed bottom place to Everton after Saturday’s sixth consecutive.
Premier League action continues on Monday with a London derby between Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham at White Hart Lane.
Premiership results:
Played on Sunday:
Middlesbrough 0 Sunderland 2
Played on Saturday:
Birmingham City 2 Liverpool 2
Bolton Wanderers 1 Portsmouth 0
Chelsea 2 Aston Villa 1
Everton 0 Wigan Athletic 1
Manchester United 1 Blackburn Rovers 2
Newcastle United 1 Manchester City 0
West Bromwich Albion 1 Charlton Athletic 2
West Ham United 0 Arsenal 0
—Reuters
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