Newcastle reached the FA Cup fourth round by picking up their first Wear-Tyne derby win in seven attempts – as Sunderland gifted them all three goals in a 3-0 win at the Stadium of Light.
The first encounter between these two arch-rivals in eight years promised a tasty contest given Sunderland’s promising season as the sixth-placed team in the Championship, and Newcastle’s recent poor run.
But the Magpies’ dominance reflected the recent history between these two, as they dominated the first half before Daniel Ballard put into his own net from Joelinton’s cross (35).
Sunderland then shot themselves in the foot after half-time as Pierre Ekwah gave the ball away in the box to allow Alexander Isak to double the lead 36 seconds into the restart (46).
Michael Beale’s Black Cats tried to get back into the cup tie as Alex Pritchard hit the crossbar then forced Martin Dubravka into a superb one-handed save.
But a bad afternoon for Ballard was compounded after he gave away a late penalty for a foul on Anthony Gordon, which Isak dispatched as the clock ticked into 90.
But Newcastle held on for their first derby win over Sunderland in 13 years – and a spot in the hat for round four eases the pressure on Eddie Howe, with this game a potential banana skin amid a dismal Premier League run.
“I never felt that way about the draw,” he told ITV. “It was a good thing for us, if you win it of course. If you don’t, it’s a little different, but the boys did a professional job.
“I thought we handled the occasion very well, brave with the ball and composed. And we didn’t let them get ahead of steam and use the crowd, especially in the first half.
“It was better, I still feel we were a bit off our best. But it was a big step in the right direction.”
How the Magpies spoiled Sunderland’s big day
The tense local rivalry between these two teams was summed up with the first chance of the game after two minutes as Sunderland fan and goalkeeper Anthony Patterson denied Newcastle supporter Sean Longstaff from close range with a brilliant reflex save.
The returning Kieran Trippier set up that early chance and the lively right-back found Longstaff again at the near post, but the Newcastle midfielder could only spoon his effort over the Sunderland crossbar.
Longstaff missed a third big chance as he fired over from inside the box but it wasn’t long until Newcastle’s dominance finally told.
Moments after he was spared giving away a penalty for a foul on Isak, Ballard inadvertently diverted Joelinton’s cross into his own net after good work from the Brazilian down the left.