Sunderland nicked a point at the Riverside, coming from behind with Nazariy Rusyn scoring off the bench.
After a goalless first half Marcus Forss opened the scoring with a top class finish, before Rusyn's long-ranger snuck underneath goalkeeper Tom Glover.
Sunderland will certainly see the draw as a point gained rather than two dropped after a seriously flat second half.
At the start of the day Sunderland were two points away from the play-off spots, with Boro breathing down their necks by another three points.
Michael Beale made one change to the side that beat Stoke, with Leo Hjelde coming straight in to make his debut in the place of Jenson Seelt, which meant Trai Hume was moved into his more natural position at right back.
Sunderland XI: Patterson, Hume, Ballard, O’Nien, Hjelde, Neil, Ekwah, Jobe, Ba, Clarke, Burstow.
Subs: Bishop, Pembele, Hemir, Roberts, Mundle, Rusyn, Seelt, Aouchiche, Kelly.
Middlesbrough XI: Glover, Aylng, Fry, Van Den Berg, Engel, Howson, Hackney, Barlaser, Forss, Greenwood, Azaz.
Finn Azaz could have easily opened the scoring before ten minutes - Patto denied Sam Greenwood one-on-one but it fell to the winger, who completely skied it. Jack Clarke then zipped past Luke Ayling with ease and almost caught out Tom Glover at his near post.
It was a frantic, end-to-end opening 20 minutes which saw Hume booked early on, then test Glover with a fierce shot and bail Sunderland out a few times with some good defending. Clarke looked dangerous on one flank and Ba was showing his typical quick feet on the other.
Some great work by Jobe and then excellent composure from Clarke gave Ba the chance to open the scoring before half time. But his shot lacked any sort of conviction and it was cleared off the line. With Azaz and Ba both missing, it could have easily been 1-1 but remained goalless at the break. For two teams lacking that cutting edge up front, Greenwood was making his presence known whilst Mason Burstow was really struggling to get involved.
Sunderland fans were nervous when Patterson appeared to clip Greenwood in the box but luckily the flag was up for offside. Boro had certainly started the second half the better side and it looked like we needed something from the bench to give a bit of an injection.
Middlesbrough’s press almost paid off when Patterson was trying to play out from the back, but was very nearly caught out. Luckily the ball went out for a goal kick.
On the hour mark Sunderland’s lack of urgency was punished. A quick free kick caught us out and Forss latched onto a loose ball with a great first touch and lashed his shot beyond Patterson. 1-0. The phrase "it's been coming" echoed through the away end.
In truth, for the majority of the second half it was all Boro. Our biggest chance came when Clarke put a free kick in which Ballard met, but the defender’s header was just wide of the post.
That being said, Clarke picked out Rusyn in space after around 80 minutes - the substitute put his laces through the bouncing ball and it squirmed under Glover for the equaliser. 1-1 out of nothing - and a goal which the keeper would be disappointed with.
We woke up after the goal and really pushed for a winner. Clarke came to life and looked a threat. He fizzed a low ball across the box which Luke Thomas almost turned into his own net. Six minutes of added time were then announced - in which Dan Ballard landed awkwardly on his shoulder and was taken off for the dying seconds.
Full time: Middlesbrough 1-1 Sunderland
ALS Man of the Match - Jack Clarke: A tough one today, but Clarke had a good battle with Ayling and got his 17th goal contribution of the season when he picked out Rusyn. After the equaliser he was much more effective.
