SUNDERLAND claimed a 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabian side Al-Shabab as part of their training camp in Dubai yesterday – but the game was overshadowed by a second-half fracas that briefly looked like seeing proceedings brought to a premature end.

Tempers had been simmering throughout the game, which saw Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray use 20 different players over the course of the 90 minutes, and they boiled over in the closing stages.

Dennis Cirkin committed a foul, and in the pushing and shoving that followed, Lynden Gooch appeared to be the victim of an attempted headbutt from an opposition player.

That sparked a major altercation, and at one stage, Sunderland co-owners Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Juan Sartori were even forced to enter the field of play in an attempt to calm things down.

Gooch was shown a straight red card, along with a member of the Al-Shabab squad, and play was stopped for a number of minutes, with the referee seemingly pondering whether to call things off early as he spoke with members of Sunderland’s coaching team. However, the action eventually resumed with the final few minutes being played out without any further incident.

That meant Amad Diallo’s first-half strike ultimately proved decisive, with the Manchester United loanee lofting home a neat finish to settle things before the interval.

Sunderland had started the game with a strong line-up which featured Aji Alese, who has recovered from the injury that sidelined him prior to the World Cup break, and Niall Huggins, who made his first start of the season in the win at Birmingham earlier this month.

They created the first chance of the game in the early stages, with Elliot Embleton winning possession before drawing a decent save from the Al-Shabab goalkeeper with a curled effort from the edge of the box.

Embleton was involved again a few minutes later, receiving a sharp pass from Corry Evans and wriggling into space before curling in another good strike that rebounded off the underside of the crossbar.

The deadlock was broken midway through the first half, with Abdoullah Ba’s pass releasing Diallo behind the Al-Shabab defence.

The Ivory Coast forward dummied a shot, enabling him to create space in the area, before sliding a precise finish into the net.

Sunderland almost added a second goal shortly before the break, but with Diallo rode two challenges before sliding in Simms, the Black Cats striker could only lift his strike over the crossbar.

The Wearsiders’ rearguard was rarely tested, although Al-Shabab came close to equalising on the stroke of half-time as Santi Mina fired in a free-kick that flicked the top of the crossbar.

Mowbray made nine changes at the interval, bringing on the likes of Alex Bass, Luke O’Nien, Patrick Roberts, Jack Clarke and Leon Dajaku, but there was no involvement for Ross Stewart, who has been building up his fitness during the Dubai trip.

Sunderland remained the dominant side throughout the second half, with Dajaku breaking into the 18-yard box to fire in a shot that was well saved.

Pritchard also went close with a free-kick that curled narrowly over the top, but with a series of niggly fouls mounting up, it was clear that tensions were mounting ahead of the flashpoint that saw things come to a head.

Gooch was heavily involved in the melee, remonstrating with the match official and seemingly being the target for a headbutt, and after things eventually calmed down, he was dismissed along with a Saudi squad player.

The officials consulted with members of both backroom teams before deciding to play on, with the game finishing at what was effectively walking pace.