MARK SCHWARZER took a stand for the goalkeepers' union yesterday when he hit out at the way derby rival Thomas Sorensen was "crucified'' for his World Cup nightmare.

Middlesbrough's Schwarzer believes Sunderland keeper Sorensen was harshly criticised for crucial mistakes in Denmark's Far-East elimination by England.

The Danes lost 3-0 in the second-round clash in Niigata and Sorensen was at fault with two of the goals, notably the first after only five minutes when he fumbled a Rio Ferdinand header into his own net.

But Sorensen, 26, has made a steady start to the season with Sunderland, conceding only two goals in four games and keeping two clean sheets away from home.

And ahead of tonight's Riverside derby, Australian international Schwarzer insisted: "Thomas has done extremely well. He's had a lot of expectations on his shoulders since taking over from Peter Schmeichel in the Denmark team.

"I think he was unjustly crucified after the England game in the World Cup; he might not have played his best game, but he's still young and I think he's proved so far in the Premier League that he's an exceptional goalkeeper and has a massive future ahead of him.''

Schwarzer has had his own critics closer to home, having been barracked by a minority of Boro fans last season.

But he, too, has made a decent start to the new campaign, like Sorensen keeping two clean sheets in four outings.

Schwarzer, however, refuses to take all the credit, and points to new skipper Gareth Southgate as the cornerstone of a rearguard the keeper reckons to be the best in his time on Teesside.

"It's probably the best defence we've had,'' said Schwarzer, who has been with Boro for over five years.

"No disrespect to anyone else who has played here, but with the players we have now, we're probably the strongest we've been.

"If you pick out individuals, we've got Gareth who's an England international with a wealth of experience.

"If you look at last season alone, he was our best player by far.

"But it's not just Gareth, it's the whole team who have been defending. We've played very well defensively this season. We've conceded only three goals and two of the goals were conceded in the last minute at home to Fulham.''

Schwarzer is wary of the threat posed by Sunderland's new-look strikeforce. Kevin Phillips has been joined by record signing Tore Andre Flo, who marked his debut with the equaliser in the 1-1 home draw against Manchester United a week past Saturday.

Three days later, Boro only lost to a controvesial penalty at Old Trafford and it was another performance that heartened Schwarzer.

"We won at Man. United last season, and I can honestly say that our last two games there have been two of the quietest I've had,'' said Schwarzer.

"Phillips and Flo are two quality players and difficult to contain, but overall we've played well at the back and I'm sure we will again against Sunderland.

"I think there is still a lot more to come from us. I don't think we've played anywhere near as well as we can.

"We've just got to make sure we progress this season and if we end up in the top six at the end of the season, that would be fantastic.''