Middlesbrough 2 Sunderland 2:Roy Keane has always had an aloof side but few believed a footballer invariably at the epicentre of any on-field action would morph into a manager capable of cutting such a detached technical-area figure.

Further evidence of the Corkman's "chilled" managerial persona arrived on the hour mark here, when Sunderland's Grant Leadbitter and Middlesbrough's Lee Cattermole crunched into a 50-50 challenge so combative they ended up attempting to throttle each other. A melee ensued and Colin Cooper, Boro's coach, sprinted into the action in rather aggressive-looking peacemaker mode.

With most of the Boro bench agitated and on their feet, Howard Webb, the referee, swiftly restored order but the most intriguing aspect of this episode was seeing a largely impassive Keane directing his cohorts to remain seated and keep calm. "I had no interest in joining in," said Sunderland's manager. "When managers and staff run on to the pitch it can make things look a hell of a lot worse than they are."

Sensibly, Webb elected merely to book Leadbitter - whose second-minute shot had given Sunderland an early lead - and Cattermole at a time when Boro had already suffered sufficient adversity. Superior throughout, Gareth Southgate's side would surely have prevailed had Tuncay Sanli, Mido and Julio Arca - whose header against his former club made it 1-1 - not suffered potentially serious injuries.

Although Fabio Rochemback continued to hurt Sunderland with his incisive passing and elusive movement, a draw looked the likeliest outcome once the Egyptian finally limped off. "It had 1-1 written all over it," insisted Keane. "But then came Stewart Downing's wonder strike." It arrived from his less-favoured right foot, the Boro left-winger collecting George Boateng's crossfield pass and sending the ball swerving beyond Craig Gordon from long range. Boateng was delighted to cue up Downing after starting as a substitute.

Keane revealed that he had found it hard to omit Liam Miller. Like Boateng, Miller eventually stepped off the bench to influential effect, beating Mark Schwarzer with a final-minute half-volley. "Another wonder strike," beamed Sunderland's manager, who conceded that his side had been lucky.