An absurd game of football, played out in two halves that could scarcely have been more contrasting, but another local derby that ended with yet more Sunderland jubilation and another dose of Newcastle heartbreak as the Lads showed defiance, desire and seemingly limitless persistence to turn around a 1-0 half time deficit and complete what seemed like a highly unlikely league double over our black and white neighbours.
Did anyone see this coming at 10:45am, when the team sheet was released and what
can only be described as a very makeshift Sunderland team was tasked with downing the hosts on their own patch? How about at 12:10pm, after some sloppy defensive play allowed Anthony Gordon to steal in and open the scoring for the hosts?
In one horrible moment, Luke O’Nien found himself cast as the fall guy and Melker Ellborg hadn’t exactly covered himself in glory either, but from the depths of despair came yet another red and white revival as goals from Chemsdine Talbi and the immensely impressive Brian Brobbey left the Mags stunned and the travelling Sunderland fans in the throes of ecstacy.
They just can’t beat us in the league, can they?
No matter who’s managing them, the players they field or the tactics they deploy, Newcastle just can’t seem to find the formula needed to get the better of the lads in red and white.
Indeed, such was the sheer feeling of elation at extending our unbeaten run in derbies that all of the negatives from this one were rendered meaningless. Was Ellborg shaky? Yes. Can we develop a greater goal threat? Absolutely, but the fact is that winning is all that matters in such affairs, and how you get there is immaterial.
Two scrappy goals, yes, but goals nevertheless. Late sucker punches for the Mags as Talbi and Brobbey never stopped battling, never stopped chasing and eventually wrote their own chapters in the history of this fixture.
Chris Rigg — mocked by Newcastle fans on social media as hardly the kind of player to strike fear into their defence after their struggles in Barcelona — was superb and O’Nien eventually recovered from his early error to steer his side through to the end: resilience, professionalism and composure personified.
Newcastle, for their part, will doubtless be attempting to kick themselves (and probably missing) as they rue yet another league derby that somehow slipped from their grasp.
For all of their attacking threats and the undeniable class of the marauding Lewis Hall, they seemed to lose their way after half time and despite the absence of so many of our frontline players, Sunderland proved that as long as you can stay in the game, keep doing the right things and never giving up the chase, turnarounds are always possible.
The ramifications of this result may well carry over and cut deeply into the North East footballing landscape.
For Eddie Howe, the need to get that Uncle Moe’s Family Feedbag smile painted on with industrial-grade Dulux will be urgent, so intense will the scrutiny and pressure be in the coming days as the league pauses for international action. Losing derbies under any circumstances is unpalatable, but losing two in one season after such heavy Saudi-backed spending in the summer? Unthinkable.
For Régis Le Bris, on the other hand, it was a quite astonishing league double and another remarkable success story for the unflappable Frenchmen. It seems that every time he or his players are questioned, they summon the fortitude needed to dig out a result — and his place in our history books is now secured.
This probably isn’t the most articulate or maybe even grammatically coherent edition of Matchday Musings I’ve ever written, but do you know something? On this occasion, I don’t really care.
Football is a game of emotions and mine are currently as highly-charged as they’ve been all season. We’re back in the big time, we’re on course to break the fifty-point barrier and we’ve just seen off Newcastle on their own patch when it looked for all the world as though this might’ve been one game too far.
Days like these are what it’s all about. Winning in such gutsy fashion is often sweeter than blowing teams off the park with slick football — and Sunderland showed that when it matters, when pride is at stake and regional dominance is on the line, they’re still the top dogs in this part of the world.
This season, the results breakdown reads thus…
The Saudi Club 0
The Soulful, Ethical And Spirited Club 2
That’s more than enough for me.
22 March 2026
Premier League
St James’ Park
Attendance: 52,253
Newcastle United: 1 (Gordon 10’)
Sunderland: 2 (Talbi 57’, Brobbey 90’)
Newcastle United: Ramsdale, Trippier (Livramento 65’), Botman (Thiaw 54’); Burn, Hall, Joelinton; Ramsey, Elanga (Murphy 65’), Barnes (Osula 76’); Gordon (Wissa 89’), Woltemade (Willock 65’)
Subs Not Used: Pope, A.Murphy, Neave
Sunderland: Ellborg, Geertruida, O’Nien; Alderete, Hume, Sadiki; Xhaka, Diarra (Le Fée 85’), Rigg; Talbi. (Reinildo 93’), Brobbey (Mayenda 93’)
Subs Not Used: Moore, Cirkin, Mukiele, H.Jones, J.Jones, Isidor
