Trouble free ... off the pitch!
Police said there were only three arrests as Sunderland’s home game with Middlesbrough passed off without major incidents.
A Northumbria Police spokesman confirmed there had been just three arrests inside the stadium and no dispersal notices had been issued.
There was a sizeable police presence around the Stadium of Light as the Black Cats took on their Teesside rivals.
Away fans arrived at St Peter’s Metro station and were escorted by officers around to their seats in the away section.
One bar in Holmeside had been designated for away fans, but there were no reports of any trouble.
It was an eventful match, which eventually finished honours even at 3-3.
The performance may have offered some hope to Sunderland but the Black Cats are still rock bottom of the Championship, four points from safety, and the mood among fans was less than optimistic.
Friends Jay Nelson and Tom Stuart were among those who left early. “It’s terrible - I’m sick of watching it now,” said Jay. “The first half was OK but after the restart, we just switched off – at the start of every second half, we just switch off.”
Twenty-year-old Jay, from Sunderland, has been a season ticket holder for five seasons but is in two minds about renewing: “If it looks as they are improving anything soon, then yes – but not if it stays like this,” he said.
Tom, 19, from Seaham, said: “In the first half we played all right, but in the second half none of the players seemed interested.
“They played like the game was already won.”
Brian Collinson, 64, was taking six-year-old grandson Franki to his first game, but the pair left early because of the cold weather.
Brian said: “I don’t think we will stay up.”
Scott Harrison had made the trip from Whitley Bay and thinks the lack of atmosphere on matchdays is affecting both players and fans.
“It is just apathetic,” he said. “I worry about what is going to happen to the club when we go down.”