On paper it read as one of the most depressing fixtures in Premier League history, and tonight's Tees-Wear derby certainly lived up to its utterly miserable billing.
Indeed, doomed Middlesbrough's 1-0 victory over even more doomed Sunderland might have achieved the pinnacle of sporting misery, as both sets of supporters condemned both the opposition and themselves to relegation from the Premier League.
'See you next year, lads'.
SAFC fans: "You're going down with the Sunderland"
Boro fans: "You're going down with the Boro"— Craig Hope (@CraigHope_DM) April 26, 2017
#safc fans "You're going down with the Sunderland" to the #boro fans. They reply "You're going down with the Boro". Nice. #gallowshumour
— Simon O'Rourke (@sorourkeITV) April 26, 2017
For Middlesbrough, it's a reality check and a return to the abyss whence they came, but for Sunderland relegation brings with it a familiar sense of foreboding. Some fans even chanted Roy Keane's name in the away end at the Riverside this evening. Either Keane's legacy truly lives on, or they've simply ran out of potential candidates to stabilise the perpetually ailing Mackems.
Once such player who was recruited from Liverpool as somewhat of a 'statement signing' in 2015 - on the back of decent loan spells - was Fabio Borini.
The 26-year-old Italian forward netted a late equaliser against West Ham at the weekend, and sprinted towards the Sunderland dugout in a seemingly pointed response to being left out of the starting XI - this after comments suggesting the squad wasn't as 'united' as it had been in seasons past.
Tonight, with the away end chanting "You're not fit to wear the shirt" as Borini walked towards the tunnel, he handed his Sunderland shirt to a Middlesbrough fan before exiting stage left.
SAFC's Fabio Borini appears to respond to his own fans singing "You're not fit to wear the shirt" by then giving it to a fan in the Boro end
— Craig Hope (@CraigHope_DM) April 26, 2017
As Sunderland fans sing you're not fit to wear the shirt Fabio Borini walks over and hands his shirt to a young Boro fan 😂😂😂
— Danny (@dannycrabbe8) April 26, 2017
It speaks to how bad Sunderland have been this season that the reaction to Borini's retort is divided, with a number of fans saying they don't blame the Italian.
Others, to be fair, view it as an unforgivable offence, with a high number of Black Cat supporters calling for his sale this summer.
There have also been suggestions that he simply handed the shirt to a fan who he had hit in the warm-up two hours prior, but if was indeed a 'classy gesture', the timing was certainly pertinent. Borini did not approach the Sunderland fans at the full-time whistle.
