“The fans here will get behind you through anything. If you lose, play like…., they’ll be back there next week roaring on their support. But the one thing you do not do, that you never do to those fans, is lose to Sunderland. And you certainly don’t lose like that to Sunderland.”
Eddie Smith (my dad) on Alan Pardew’s NUFC.
It would have been my dad’s 80th birthday on the day of this game. It’s always a bit of a sad feeling when you hit these milestones but as I set out on the 8am bus with my son in tow for his first ever derby, I was full of hope for a cheerful day.
The farcical process of the people of the north east mobilising towards beer as effectively as possible ahead of a noon kick off, was in full effect by the time I got to the quayside bar to meet the lads.
It’s been so long since a home game with Sunderland I wasn’t sure where the law stood on early drinking, but it was still that stupid rule that you could only get a beer with food, and so began the process of a ludicrous pile up of bacon and sausage sandwiches on our table, about 40% of which got eaten to some extent.
I also had to face the wrath of my mate Hutch, as I had been out the previous night watching Greg Davies as a timely distraction from the days events. Hutch, by contrast, had spent his Saturday evening stewing on the prospect of the match going wrong, and was living on his last shredded nerve by the time I arrived. Although things were to subsequently go wrong, this was at least funny.
The walk up the bank was encouraging as the atmosphere was in full effect. Black and white everywhere, no rain to ruin the spectacle and a general buzz that was only encouraged by Wor Flags amazing tifo. Now it just needed a performance from United, and it got one, for twenty minutes.
I’m not going to dwell on things too much, as I’m sure only the most masochistic of readers will want to relive this match in forensic detail, but also I feel like I’ve written this report about ten times already this season. United started well and got in control of the game, before taking a deserved lead. The keeper played a dodgy pass out to O’Nien who was dispossessed by Woltemade. He played Gordon in and he beat a couple of their players and applied a fine finish.
A lovely goal but one that didn’t give the impetus it should. Robin Roefs has been a star of Sunderland’s season, with the acquisition of the keeper last summer hailed as a big part of their early success. His injury has seen Ellborg come in and look extremely dodgy. His involvement in this goal should have been a green light to test the keeper with the fragile confidence. Instead the United squad decided to conjure up a performance worth booing off, while at the other end I can recall Aaron Ramsdale needing to pull off three very decent saves.
Instead of steaming at the goal or trying a few shots, United did the passing triangle thing: across the back four, in to Ramsey, back to Burn, maybe involve Ramsdale. Several corners and free kicks came and went as though they weren’t practised in training and the only efforts of note involved Botman’s header hitting the outside of the post and Elanga making a poor choice of shot to blast into the side netting from a tight angle. Still, half-time we were ahead having had the better of the opening half.
Hutch, now a very short fuse away from being carted off to St Luke’s, would later launch a rant against the mellow half-time music, blaming it for impacting the atmosphere in the second half. I would suggest that United’s performance was more the issue.
Sunderland had constant possession and were clearly getting a foothold in the game when Botman needed lengthy attention after a clash with Brobbey. He was replaced by Thiaw, which may have been a key factor, whether the German was still adjusting to the game or Botman’s presence was a big miss, but the mackems levelled instantly. Ramsdale’s weak punched clearance led to a goalmouth scramble that was finished by Talbi.
The attempts to change things up were badly needed but didn’t have the desired effect. When Thiaw bundled in from a corner we were allowed a moment but it was swiftly chalked off for Murphy’s offside infringement on the keeper. Sunderland’s repeatedly dangerous counters were firing a warning for what was to come and sure enough…
A counter was allowed to walk through the United team before a messy finish by Brobbey was thwarted by Ramsdale and forced in at the second attempt. A 90th minute winner, thanks lads. The sight of United desperately trying to scramble a poxy point with Yoane Wissa chucked on for a rare sighting was humbling.
I’m not sure whether the attempt at a round of appreciation was tone deaf by the United team, or the right thing to do in terms of facing the fans. Either way it was abandoned when loud boos told them exactly what it meant to have been doubled by a Sunderland side who haven’t taken a maximum off any other side this year. We really needed some course correction after the events of the last period we were together in the Prem and instead our more experienced, more expensive team have made it worse.
I said afterwards that I have not enjoyed this season at all. Moments, yes, like a glorious trip to Paris, Osula’s winner against Man Utd or the crazy comeback vs Leeds, but overall it has been a constant stream of disappointments as “that” performance is never more than two games away. This made it 22 points dropped from winning positions. If we’d held them we would be three points behind Arsenal in second. If we’d maintained half of those points, it would be fifth and on course for the Champions League.
It would be wrong to ignore the massive build up of fixtures (and the relentless line up of opponents we’ve drawn) as this was one of many displays that could be categorised as ‘weary’ or ‘tired’. It feels typical that Sunderland have had the opportunity to mug us after midweek trips to Germany and now Spain, while they have rested up nicely in preparation. The way things are heading it could well be role reversal next season.
Unlike previous seasons, there is a small positive that this fixture will definitely reoccur next year and the chance to put it right will come. It was suggested in the pub afterwards that Eddie Howe has committed the Pardew sin of underestimating the importance of this match to the people, although the attempted lap of honour will have given a clear message on that one.
Whether Howe has the chance to learn this lesson is open for debate. Caution was rightly exercised against those demanding change in a season where the cups were all given a serious go and the league remained open to possibility. As it stands now, the cups are all gone and we sit in a pitiful 12th place.
European places remain within striking range and a solid effort in the remaining seven matches might well secure a position that could be called respectable. With midweeks now clear for the run in and a solid three weeks to commit to that crucial training ground preparation, there can be no excuse. Even if this does end with a Europa/Conference league berth, that will feel like poor consolation for the way everyone feels this Monday morning.
In the post-match autopsy we traced the origins of this seasons travails back to the pubs of Glasgow last July, when news filtered through that Alexander Isak would not be in the squad to face Celtic having commenced his strike action. Celtic won 4-0, holes began to appear and the weeks ahead saw a series of transfer disasters that set the tone.
This summer must be different. The CEO and director of football we now have in place need to act swiftly and effectively to fix this squad. Some have no place in it, others need to step down to more peripheral roles and some will almost surely follow the Isak spat of spoiling for an exit we’d rather they didn’t take. There’s a conversation of whether this is done under the stewardship of Eddie Howe or if performances this season have determined that this era is over, but whatever the decision, things need to improve. This groundhog derby defeat has barely been tolerated this time but it can’t happen again.
Newcastle 1 Sunderland 2 – Sunday 22 March 2026 12pm
Match Stats
Goals:
Newcastle United:
Gordon 10
Sunderland:
Talbi 57, Brobbey 90
Possession was Newcastle 60% Sunderland 40%
Total shots were Newcastle 16 Sunderland 17
Shots on target were Newcastle 4 Sunderland 7
Corners were Newcastle 9 Sunderland 5
Touches in the opposition box Newcastle 22 Sunderland 29
Newcastle team v Sunderland:
Ramsdale, Trippier (Livramento 65), Botman (Thiaw 54), Burn, Hall, Ramsey, Joelinton, Woltemade (Willock 65), Elanga (Jacob Murphy 65), Gordon (Wissa 89), Barnes (Osula 76)
Unused subs:
Pope, Alex Murphy, Neave
You can follow the author on BlueSky @bigjimwinsalot.bsky.social