Derby day was just as terrifying and nerve-wracking as I remember.
I last saw Sunderland play Newcastle in the flesh in October 2008, when Kieran Richardson’s thunderbastard freekick sealed all three points. A lot has happened in the years that followed — including Sunderland beating Newcastle on several occasions.
The last few minutes of the game on this occasion were tense but in hindsight, this was unnecessary stress. Newcastle didn’t lay a glove on us and spent more time trying to start a scrap
in injury time than trying to finally break us down.
We didn’t give them an inch, either on or off the pitch — from getting in their faces from the off to not even putting their badge or name on the scoreboard to finally taking a team picture in front of the Roker End.
This gesture in particular was special. It was Sunderland AFC giving a massive middle finger to them for the way they went on after the cup game, and it was also a good way of identifying how far we’ve come since that shambles.
In less than two years, we’ve gone from being a mid-table Championship club devoid of confidence to a consistently good Premier League team who’ll be above our black and white neighbours at Christmas.
The game was far from pretty, and we weren’t at our best, but what we had much more of was passion and drive.
For a team that’s spent hundreds of millions of pounds in the last three years, they were flat and devoid of ideas. Antony Elanga and Anthony Gordon cost a combined £100 million, and they weren’t given a sniff by Nordi Mukiele and Reinildo — players who signed for Sunderland for a combined total of just over £10 million.
They’d waited almost 10 years to play us in a league game.
We dropped down to the third division, languished outside the top flight for years, came back up, and beat them again. Not since August 2011 have they tasted a league victory against us and what’s hilarious is that we went nine unbeaten, dropped down to our lowest ever league position, came back up and picked up where we left off: by beating Newcastle.
Sunday was a wonderful day — a day when our club came together and said, “We’re back”.
The pre-match atmosphere and everything the club did off the pitch was superb. The stands were rocking from the get-go and it felt as though everyone was on the same page, pulling in the same direction.
Our reward was a derby win borne of hard work and commitment, provided by a group of players carefully assembled by a club that continues to look well run and keen to keep on reaching new heights.
This win is one for all of us who endured the League One years, the playoff defeats, and losing to utter dross and having the piss ripped out of us, wondering if we’d ever have a club to be proud of again. The answer to that is right now.
Embrace it, enjoy it, and let’s see what Sunderland Association Football Club has in store for us next!
