WHAT a talent Chris Rigg is.

The teenager enhanced his already glowing reputation as his back-heeled finish enabled Sunderland to claim Wear-Tees derby victory over Middlesbrough and climb back to the top of the Championship table.

Rigg only turned 17 in June, but the academy product has established himself as a first-team regular under Regis Le Bris, with his latest goal surely the highlight of his senior career so far.

Having been forced extremely wide as he rounded Seny Dieng, Rigg nonchalantly backheeled the ball home to break the deadlock towards the end of the first half.

Sunderland deserved their success, with their defensive resilience and excellent organisation limiting Boro to a handful of opportunities, despite the visitors dominating possession for much of the game. The Black Cats almost doubled their lead late on when Romaine Mundle hit the post.

Boro also hit the woodwork in the early stages, with Tommy Conway heading against the crossbar, but despite having ** per cent of the ball, Michael Carrick’s side looked devoid of ideas for the whole of the second half as they failed to seriously trouble Anthony Patterson.

In many ways, this was the story of Boro’s season so far – lots of possession, limited clear-cut opportunities and a damaging tendency to offer up chances as a result of sloppy defensive lapses.

Boro lacked fluency for much of the afternoon, although things might have been different had Conway’s header been an inch or two lower in the fifth minute.

Conway continued his run into the 18-yard box after feeding Isaiah Jones down the right-hand side, and after the winger clipped a cross into the box, Boro’s summer signing from Bristol City headed against the top of the crossbar.

The Teessiders will also feel the game would have taken a markedly different turn had Trai Hume seen red for a ninth-minute lunge at Emmanuel Latte Lath rather than receiving a yellow card. The Sunderland full-back was not in control of his challenge as he caught his opponent, and was probably fortunate to remain on the field.

Another Boro chance went begging midway through the first half, with an unmarked Matt Clarke heading over from eight yards from a corner, but by that stage, Sunderland had begun to assume the upper hand.

Aidan Morris had to produce a superb sliding challenge to prevent Patrick Roberts from getting a shot away after the Sunderland winger danced his way into the 18-yard box, but the visitors were powerless to prevent their opponents claiming the lead in the 25th minute.

Boro’s problems began when Luke Ayling gave the ball away in his own half, enabling Romaine Mundle to drive forward and play the ball to Roberts.

He fired a low cross into the area, with a stretching George Edmundson only succeeding in prodding the ball back towards his own goal.

Rigg nipped in to win possession, and while it initially looked as though the teenager had taken the ball too wide as he went around Dieng, he nonchalantly found the net with a sensational backheeled finish.

With a goal advantage to defend, Sunderland’s players were happy to sit relatively deep and cede possession to Boro’s defenders and midfielders, who struggled to turn their dominance of the ball into clear-cut opportunities.

Finn Azaz shot at Anthony Patterson and saw another long-range shot deflect over off the head of Dennis Cirkin, before Boro’s final opportunity of the first half came to nothing when a stretching Emmanuel Latte Lath prodded over the bar.

Moments earlier, the home fans had been appealing for a penalty, but while Ayling had a hand on Mundle’s back as the winger tumbled over in the area, the contact between the pair was fairly minimal.

Sunderland created the first opportunity of the second period, with Roberts curling a shot narrowly wide after cutting in from the right flank, and the game had only just progressed beyond the hour mark when Carrick turned to his bench for a double change. Ben Doak and Micah Hamilton came on, replacing Jones and Azaz, neither of whom had really done enough to ask serious questions of the opposition defence.

The changes were an attempt to spark Boro’s attack into life, but the visitors’ play throughout the second half tended to be laboured and predictable. Again, the Teessiders had plenty of the ball, but they never really looked like doing much with it.

Sunderland were happy to sit in, and the home side’s organisation and defensive discipline was commendable.

They continued to offer enough of a threat on the break to ensure the Boro defence was unable to relax, and they could not have come much closer to doubling their lead with 11 minutes left.

Matt Clarke, who was shaky all afternoon, fouled Eliezer Mayenda on the edge of the box, and Mundle stepped up to fire a direct free-kick against the base of the left-hand post.