Liam Miller came off the bench to hand Sunderland a hard-fought derby point with a last-minute strike in a fiercely contested encounter.

The former Celtic midfielder smashed a left-foot volley past Mark Schwarzer to deny Gareth Southgate's men a victory they thought was in the bag after local boy Stewart Downing had dispatched a 67th-minute thunderbolt past Craig Gordon.

Black Cats boss Roy Keane, celebrating 50 games in charge at the Stadium of Light, saw his side get off to the perfect start when Grant Leadbitter capitalised on an error by former Black Cat Julio Arca to start and finish an attack which produced the game's opening goal with less than two minutes gone.

Boro were back on level terms when Arca made amends with a 14th-minute header to drag his side back into it, and Downing's goal should have been enough to win it.

But as chances went begging with the impressive Gary O'Neil, making his first start for the club, unable to take any of a series of opportunities which came his way, the home side were made to pay in front of a crowd of 30,675.

Derby days have proved eventful for Arca in recent years - he scored for Sunderland at Boro two seasons ago and unwittingly ended the career of Newcastle skipper Alan Shearer in a 4-1 home defeat for the Black Cats during the same campaign, while his strike against the Magpies last month clinched a 2-2 draw on Teesside.

MUCH has been said about the lack of entertainment being the main reason for the dwindling crowds at the Riverside this season. Nearly 31,000 supporters made the effort for the first Tees-Wear derby, nearly 2,000 more than their previous highest against Newcastle, and they wouldn't have been disappointed.

The clash had everything: thrills, spills, drama, tensions threatening to boil over and superb goals to boot in a high octane encounter between two fierce North-East rivals.

The contest began at 100mph and it rarely dropped below that.

Local hero Grant Leadbitter set the tone in the second minute, biting around the ankles of his one-time hero Julio Arca and robbing him of the ball, before swapping passes with Michael Chopra to blast Sunderland into the lead.

Arca, the one-time Black Cats favourite, however, made amends for being caught in possession and headed Middlesbrough level just before the half hour mark. The Argentine was true to his word and did not celebrate against his old side.

It was just a shame the Boro playmaker had to leave the field just moments later following an injury, as he had illuminated the contest with is sparkling range of skills.

Gary O'Neil made his home debut for the Teessiders and he proved what a shrewd signing manager Gareth Southgate has made.

He provided the assist for Arca's headed goal and could have helped himself to a brace himself had he put his scoring boots on. But he revealed what a good engine he has, and a cultured right foot.

His inclusion was a surprise as it came to the expense of George Boateng. The Boro skipper had to settle for a place on the bench as Southgate remained true to his total football word, at home at least.

The Boro boss plumbed for an Arca and Fabio Rochemback axis in the centre of midfield and they pulled the strings most of the time.

Sunderland manager Roy Keane will be thankful for a share of the spoils, but overall he will be disappointed with his team's performance. They may have lit the blue touch paper in the second minute but they failed to build on that.

Aside from a Ross Wallace chance ten minutes after the break, supplied by the impressive Leadbitter, they offered very little until substitute Liam Miller earned the visitors a draw with a looping strike over Mark Schwartzer.

Stewart Downing scored a spectacular goal with his right foot from over 20 yards. He would have thought it was enough to win the match, and it should have been as Boro were the better side overall.

But as Jimmy Greaves so often said 'football's a funny old game'. Had he witnessed this clash he might have said 'always expect the unexpected' in derby games. He would have been right of course.

However, what transpired at the Riverside Stadium this afternoon was out of the ordinary even by his standards.

The 26-year-old Argentinian was barely into his stride when he gifted the ball to Leadbitter on halfway and looked on in horror as the Wearsiders made the most of the opportunity.

Leadbitter raced away before picking out Michael Chopra on the left, and then benefited from a slice of good fortune when the striker's shot hit him and fell perfectly for him to drive a left-foot effort past the stranded Schwarzer.

There were just 75 seconds on the clock when the ball hit the back of the net, but Boro's response was immediate as Arca atoned for his error within 12 minutes.

Home debutant O'Neil, a £5million deadline day signing from Portsmouth, sent in a teasing right-wing cross which the South American met with perfect timing at the far post to thump a downward header into the net despite the best efforts of Craig Gordon.

A pulsating encounter maintained its pace for much of an intense 45 minutes which fully tested Southgate's resources.

Striker Tuncay Sanli, who replaced the injured Jeremie Aliadiere in the starting line-up, limped off with just 10 minutes gone, and was followed within 15 minutes by the unfortunate Arca, who was carried off with what looked like a serious knee injury.

With Dong-Gook Lee and George Boateng having already joined the fray, Lee Cattermole was stripped and ready to come on with five minutes of the first half still to play with Mido clutching his hamstring, but the Egyptian declined to leave the field.

In the meantime, O'Neil had tested Gordon with a smartly-struck shot from distance and should have done better on 37 minutes when he blasted a volley high over after Downing's effort had been deflected to him.

However, he and his team-mates left the field at the break still wondering how Danny Higginbotham had escaped without conceding a penalty when Luke Young's ball into the box had hit his hand.

Boro started the second half the brighter, and went agonisingly close to taking the lead on 50 minutes when Lee accepted Mido's knockdown and curled a right-foot shot inches wide of the far post with Gordon beaten.

The visitors rallied and after seeing Jonathan Woodgate survive a penalty shout for handball, Ross Wallace blasted a cross the face of goal from Leadbitter's 55th-minute cross.

But they fell behind with 23 minutes remaining when Downing took aim from 25 yards and blasted a stunning right-foot shot past Gordon, who was undone by the swerve the England midfielder imparted on the ball.

The visitors tried desperately to work their way back into the game, although Leadbitter and Greg Halford both went well wide from distance as their challenge looked to have petered out.

Indeed, both O'Neil and Fabio Rochemback could have added to Keane's woes as time ran down.

But Miller had not given up hope and he muscled his way into the box a minute from time to hammered a left-foot drive past Schwarzer.

Cattermole fired inches wide in injury time, but two points had slipped away.

Watch the match highlights from Monday, September 24