Championship: Sunderland 2 - 1 Derby

If the river Wear were more enticing it might have been busy on Saturday night. So often in the past few years Sunderland fans have left their ground in despair and felt like throwing themselves in. But after this breathless, affirming game those same punters would have been plunging joyously. Liam Miller's injury-time winner sparked an outbreak of smiling not seen in these parts for seasons.

Because of the deft touch Miller applied to Grant Leadbitter's inviting cross Sunderland are fourth in the Championship, three points off West Bromwich Albion, who are top. This Saturday the Baggies host the Black Cats at the Hawthorns. It is a lipsmacking prospect. Also because of Miller's head Derby County are second, but only on goal difference and they have a game in hand. On Friday night they are at home to Colchester.

The effect of such a galvanising match is for people immediately to scrutinise tables and fixtures - so tight is it that, had Miller not scored, Sunderland would be eighth and Derby top. Amid such tension both teams, both clubs and both managers deserve praise. Derby may have lost but Billy Davies took consolation from a second-half performance which suggests his side will be still be seriously involved when they host Leeds United on the last day of the season.

Gloating has never been Roy Keane's style but the Irishman must have been quietly exuberant at the sheer tenacity his evolving team are displaying at the moment. "Both teams had chances. It was a great game for the neutral and it was nice to score a goal so late," said the former Manchester United captain.

Having lost two points at Birmingham last Tuesday through a 90th-minute equaliser from DJ Campbell, Sunderland were looking at another two going by the wayside after Giles Barnes's beauty on the hour. Derby, roared on by Davies and with the captain Matt Oakley in excellent form, were pinning back Sunderland at that stage. The manager's technical area is as intense as any boxing ring when Davies is in it. He said he was 5ft 9in when the season began - "now I'm 5ft 6.

In contrast to the first half the home goalkeeper, Darren Ward, was making fingertip saves and Tobias Hysen cleared from the Sunderland line. If there was going to be a winner it was Derby. But Sunderland buckled only once, when Barnes pirouetted past entranced defenders before spiking a low shot beyond Ward. "A top goal," said Keane.

That resolve enabled the Wearsiders to claw their way back into a meaty game. The substitute Daryl Murphy struck a post with 15 minutes left, Dwight Yorke broke through with five to go and was denied by Stephen Bywater's sharpness. Danny Collins placed a free header straight at Bywater with one minute remaining. The momentum of the first half - when David Connolly scored Sunderland's first penalty "for 65 years" according to Keane - was returning and was cemented by Miller.

Simplicity is one of the lessons Keane has said he learned from Brian Clough -who played for Sunderland and managed Derby - telling his players every week to keep on keepin' on. Maybe they should play the Redskins or Curtis Mayfield before kick-off.

"We never gave up," Miller said. "We all felt sick at Birmingham when we conceded the late goal last week. It wasn't a nice thing to experience and the dressing room was very low. But we have managed to do it to Derby and it's a different dressing room. It was a much better feeling, that's for certain. It says a lot about the character we have in the team. We dug deep, we kept going, we persisted and it paid off."

Now those players have their own victorious evidence of what Keane preaches and it may be decisive. On a personal level Miller also has the recollection of Leeds's play-off defeat against Watford last May.

"Sickening," he said. "I hope I'm not playing in the play-offs this season. I want to avoid that again. It was such a horrible feeling. We all want to avoid the play-offs and go and win automatic promotion. It's still within reach. We just have to make sure we keep winning. The game at West Brom is massive."

Man of the match: Jonny Evans

On loan from Manchester United and only 19 last month, the Belfast-born centre-half has improved considerably and is a star in the making.

Best moment So good on the ball was Evans that his one misplaced pass stood out in an overall excellent show.