Liam Miller was delighted to strike late on for Sunderland in Saturday's 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough.

It was the former Manchester United midfielder's first Premiership goal and he said: "It's been a long wait. I was hoping my first goal would have come sooner, but that's the way these things work out.

"I have caught a few sweet in my time, and luckily I saved another nice one for Saturday. That was probably up there with the best of them."

It came in the nick of time for Roy Keane's men, who have made something of a habit of scoring late since their return to the Premier League.

Michael Chopra's opening day winner against Tottenham came deep into injury time, and the former Newcastle man struck at the death once again four days later to snatch a 2-2 draw at Birmingham.

Miller told the Sunderland Echo: "Once again, we scored a late goal and dug out a point from a difficult situation.

"It just goes to show the character in the team. This bunch of lads always play for the 90 minutes.

"We didn't play well, but luckily enough, we came away with a draw and pulled one out for the team and the fans, and that's pleasing."