A full-blooded derby, there. Who does this outcome help the most? Defeat would have been a disaster for Newcastle and, after working their way back into it, they’ll have cause for optimism. It was vital to find a way to get a result there. Sunderland were the better side for much of this and will probably be kicking themselves that they couldn’t hold on to a lead that hadn’t often been in danger – but Allardyce won’t be too unhappy at their performance levels at the moment.
The upshot is that both remain in the relegation zone, Sunderland two points shy of Norwich and Newcastle three, both with a game in hand. And where do Newcastle go next? Carrow Road, of course.
Thanks for reading, and indeed writing – it’s been fun. Now please make haste to Jacob Steinberg’s MBM of Manchester City v Manchester United, which can’t be missed either. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
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Full-time: Newcastle 1-1 Sunderland
And ... breathe.
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90+6 min: Mitrovic is now sitting down. Sunderland have the ball out of harm’s way. And that’s...
90+5 min: Back on the field, nearly an awful mistake by Lascelles to let Borini in at the death ... but Elliot is out sharply to get there first.
90+4 min: He can’t come back on – again, quite rightly. He’s virtually having to be restrained, by Benitez and his staff, from re-entering the pitch!
90+3 min: Benitez is certain Mitrovic was elbowed, perhaps by Kone. Not sure there was any intent there, judging by the replay. He’s up now and having to be marched off the pitch – quite correctly – by the medics, much to his annoyance.
90+2 min: So much of the urgency here that Newcastle didn’t really have before their goal. Mitrovic hurls himself at an Anita cross, can’t make it and is now down. He’s taken a nasty-looking blow to the head and players from both sides look concerned.
90 min: Sissoko goes on another surge but Cattermole tackles him very well before he can reach a really threatening area. Mannone is booked for perceived timewasting shortly afterwards. And – we’ll have four added minutes here...
89 min: Can anyone find a winner here? The momentum is all with Newcastle at the moment but Sunderland are standing firm.
88 min: Oh wow – it’s now 3-2 to Southampton at St Mary’s. That’s from 2-0 down. Mane again!
87 min: Van Aanholt is down – cramp, clearly – and Newcastle are annoyed that Atkinson wouldn’t let them play on. Rightly so, I think.
86 min: An 83rd minute equaliser, too, in Southampton – by Graziano Pelle. Two-all there!
85 min: Cattermole replaces Kirchoff for Sunderland, and Shelvey has a shot saved by Mannone.
Goal! Newcastle 1-1 Sunderland (Mitrovic 83)
Did you see that coming? I really did not, but what a well-conceived goal. Wijnaldum, really quiet to this point, beats N’Doye on the right and gets to the byline. His cross – chipped, floated to the back stick – is delightful, tempting, everything a bustling striker like Mitrovic could want. He hadn’t bustled too much prior to this, but he throws himself at the ball and thunders a header home! St James’ Park goes berserk!
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81 min: Sissoko is playing as a very advanced left-back indeed, and he almost picks out Cisse with a good ball to the far post. O’Shea averts danger. Newcastle need to be offering more now – not a whole lot of time left.
@nickames82 nasty feeling Newcastle are "a patient, etherised upon a table..."
— Gareth Wilson (@garethclwilson) March 20, 2016
Very good.
78 min: Nearly a chance for 2-0, as Defoe floats over a delightful pass that won’t *quite* sit up for M’Vila to have a crack at. A corner results, though, and Newcastle clear the danger.
76 min: Another Newcastle replacement. Townsend, whose influence has faded, comes off and Papiss Cisse – after four months out – returns. Can he give them that bit of zip in behind? He almost gets onto a Perez cross just too high – straightaway.
75 min: A second Sunderland change. Off comes Khazri, on comes Dame N’Doye. Then Kone has to block well fro Perez on the edge of the six-yard box.
74 min: Shelvey pea-rolls one from 20 yards. Mannone could throw his cap, if he had a cap, on it. Sunderland are closing space in the middle so well; there’s just no way through, and Newcastle are getting frustrated.
73 min: John O’Shea replaces Kaboul at the heart of the Sunderland defence, now. Kaboul has a calf injury, it transpires. That’s not wholly convenient, he’d been dominant in there.
72 min: Benitez brings on Vurnon Anita, replacing Janmaat. Perez then gets the ball from Townsend, makes a decent first touch and the ball sits up nicely, but his shot from 20 yards is horrible.
71 min: Newcastle just ramping the pressure up in these last few minutes. They’re not getting any joy through the middle, though, and when Townsend puts in another low delivery from the right there is nobody attacking it.
70 min: Sadio Mane has pulled one back for Southampton at St Mary’s. Liverpool now lead them 2-1. Will Thursday’s exertions have tired them?
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68 min: Inswinger from Shelvey; claim by Mannone; low-level handbags involving Kaboul and Mitrovic.
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68 min: Sissoko rampages as advertised, then gives it back to Perez, who crosses low to De Jong. Newcastle think Kaboul has pulled him, but it looked like six of one, half a dozen of the other to me. Now, though, they win a corner...
66 min: Good footwork from Perez after a pass from Townsend, but he can’t quite get an angle for anything more threatening than a tame shot straight at Mannone.
65 min: You couldn’t say, though, that Sunderland have just gritted this out muckily so far. They’ve showed good attacking intent and have definitely been the better side.
64 min: We are amid a scrappy spell, with balls astray at both ends, and that will only suit one side.
63 min: Benitez is going for it. Off goes Colback, on a yellow and not having his best game; on comes Luuk de Jong. I think Perez goes to the left, Sissoko to “rampaging left-back”, and De Jong up top with Mitrovic.
61 min: Lee Madden emails – “Kirchoff has been really good in front of the Sunderland defence but I feel sorry for Borini. He was once a promising striker that has been turned into a hard working defensive winger at Sunderland. Also, why do players appeal when a ball may have been over the line? I mean, we literally have technology that tells the referee!”
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60 min: Borini, on his left foot, shoots well wide after another good Sunderland spell. They look as likely to score a second as Newcastle do to level things up.
58 min: Superb save from Elliot! How important could that be? Khazri loses control after trying to trick his way through on the left but Van Aanholt, at a fair angle, is sharply onto the loose ball, thrashing it on target and being thwarted by a fine reaction stop as Elliot tips over the top. The corner is cleared. That could have been goodnight.
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57 min: Fraser Thomas writes with this – “NBC commentator has just said that the last time Newcastle came from a half-time deficit to win a PL game was December 2006 v Reading.”
Wow. Well, that wouldn’t really surprise me on many levels but still ... wow. Newcastle has been a football club without heart, guts or gumption for a long time now.
55 min: Oooh, Sissoko scuffs a decent opening there. Townsend goes on his first real run of the half and crosses deeply to the back stick, where the midfielder is unmarked. He has to back off a bit to make his volley, though, which probably explains his miscue. A good lash there could have caused no end of trouble.
53 min: Chance for Mitrovic. Sissoko does well to keep a loose Colback pass in play and whips an excellent ball in from the left. Mitrovic gets across his man well but can’t get enough direction on his header, which flashes straight into Mannone’s arms. Better from Newcastle though.
52 min: Lovely play by Kirchoff, underrated I think since joining Sunderland, in the middle and a perfect ball right to Borini, but the move breaks down with Rodwell. Sunderland are winning the ball back much more sharply though and, after they do so again, Shelvey is booked for scything Kirchoff down.
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50 min: Sunderland show now, and Khazri tries to play in the underlapping Van Aanholt but Mbemba is alive to it.
48 min: Janmaat wins an early corner, though, and tries to give the crowd some gee-up. It’s taken from the right by Townsend ... and M’Vila has to clear off the line! Mannone comes out, gets nothing on the ball and, as it’s turned towards goal at the back post by Perez, the midfielder bashes it away just as it looks like sneaking in!
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46 min: Yedlin hacks away a diagonal Shelvey ball early on. Newcastle need to start getting in behind Sunderland; they just haven’t yet, at all.
Peeeep! Second half begins
Do or die, now.
Mark Turner sees parallels between The Waste Land and Benitez’s interval speech: “Rafa’s half-time pep talk: ‘Do You know nothing? Do you see nothing? Do you remember nothing?’”
Newcastle’s players smile, of course, and go on drinking tea (different poem, but I don’t care).
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Don’t you have to hand it to Jermain Defoe? I think you do. Nobody expected too much from him after he came back from MLS, and last season was a bit of a chore – but if Sunderland stay up this season then much of it will have been down to him. That’s 12 league goals now. Maybe his new PA has streamlined his diary enough to allow maximum concentration on goals.
Southampton 0-2 Liverpool is the half-time score at St Mary’s, by the way. Liverpool all over the home team, by all accounts.
Dac Hewison asks: “Why doesn’t Alan Shearer become Newcastle’s manager? He is always criticising Newcastle so why doesn’t he become the manager and realise how hard it actually is.”
Not sure that went especially well when he tried it, Dac.
Half-time: Newcastle 0-1 Sunderland
Well, now. That half was, for the most part, played at a ferocious tempo, Sunderland enjoying a few decent early chances before Newcastle got a hand on the tiller and enjoyed some sights of goal themselves. Then, just a minute for the break, Defoe scored a goal that might change everything. Will it be seven in a row for Sunderland? Go nowhere – the second half should be a treat.
45+2 min: Well into added time and Newcastle win a corner – but it won’t be taken because it’s ...
Goal! Newcastle 0-1 Sunderland (Defoe 44)
What was that about threat levels? Sunderland win a corner and Khazri cuts it back cleverly to Borini on the right corner of the area. His fierce drive is pawed up into the air by Elliot and Mbemba – I think – can only half-clear as he gets up to head the looping ball away. It falls perfectly for Defoe, six yards out, who lashes a left-footed volley back across the goalkeeper and in. What a huge goal that might be!
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43 min: “April will be the cruellest month for one of these teams, perhaps both,” says Mark Turner, biting on the TS Eliot bone.
42 min: Then Rodwell has a wayward strike after a spell of Sunderland possession. Their threat level, significant in the first 20-25 minutes, has dropped though.
41 min: Mbemba, the home centre back, gets overexcited after surging 40 yards upfield unopposed. He might be entitled to a shot, but his effort goes well high and wide when there are other options.
39 min: Promise I’ll spell Elliot’s name correctly at some point. Elliot. Not Eliot, like TS Eliot. This MBM is becoming a waste land, you could say, for word-forming propriety.
37 min: Yep, Khazri territory. This one goes wide, too, and forces Elliot into a dive – but it never really looked like going in.
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36 min: On one such foray, Borini tries to go round Janmaat and is bodychecked. This time Janmaat gets his yellow card, and Sunderland get a set piece 30 yards out. Khazri territory?
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34 min: Newcastle are certainly seeing more of the ball now, if not really getting in behind Allardyce’s men. It was them playing on the counter earlier; now Sunderland are being forced into rather more of that.
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33 min: Janmaat goes through the back of Khazri and is fortunate not to be booked. The free kick, put directly into the box by Van Aanholt from just inside the Newcastle half, is caught bravely by Elliot – who came out a very long way.
31 min: Just wide from Shelvey! He wraps the free kick low to the un-walled side of the goal and Mannone is possibly beaten if it’s on target.
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29 min: Minor alarm for Sunderland as Kaboul slips in the face of a Sissoko cross, but Mannone is right behind it. Then Kaboul causes rather more danger by fouling Perez a yard outside the area, bang in the middle. Good chance here...
28 min: Benitez is talking, explaining and waving his arms to Colback as he takes a throw-in. There was plenty of that on Monday night too.
27 min: A pause for breath as Newcastle play the ball around at the back. Not been many of those.
25 min: Newcastle counter rapidly after semi-convincingly clearing another Sunderland free kick. Sissoko tries to switch to Perez, who is sprinting through in space, but his right-to-left pass hits Yedlin.
24 min: Van Aanholt at last gets to grips with Townsend as he tries to go round him. This game just won’t let up. Sunderland should, on balance of chances, be leading by now.
23 min: Liverpool, through Philippe Coutinho (a 30-yarder, I hear) and Daniel Sturridge, have very quickly gone 2-0 up at Southampton.
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21 min: Sunderland close again! This time Khazri gets into space, again on that right side of the area, after the ball squirms free from a challenge. He flashes a cross-shot in and Defoe, flying in at the far post, misses it by an inch.
20 min: Townsend is flying here, though, Another of those leggy gallops sees him ... yes ... cut inside and shoot from 20 yards. It’s too hot for Mannone to catch and spins away from him, but he dives onto the ball before anyone can pounce.
19 min: The Sunderland fans think their team has scored ... but Defoe hits the side netting! He seizes onto a cutback from the right and he’s scored from this position so many times before – but this one grazes the outside of the goal! Closest call yet, and Sunderland ought to be ahead.
18 min: First lull in proceedings as Shelvey and Wijnaldum seem a little unsure whether to put the ball out, with Borini down. Wijnaldum almost plays his team into trouble as a result ... but moments later Colback gets into real trouble himself, hacking down Borini and earning a two-game suspension. The first of those is away at Norwich so that’s a blow.
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15 min: Sissoko is putting in the same kind of shift he did on Monday night. Now he’s to be found legging it back to shepherd the ball out by his own byline ahead of Khazri. When his tempo is high, Newcastle’s tends to be.
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13 min: There’s been no let-up here yet. A pulsating start. Townsend gets into a similar position to before, crossing to the far post where Sissoko, who could probably go for goal at an admittedly tight angle, spoons the ball into the air as he tries to turn it back across goal. The ball stays alive until Shelvey, getting onto a clearance 25 yards out, blasts well off the mark.
12 min: Mitrovic, given some encouragement by Van Aanholt, wins a challenge near the right corner flag. He concedes a goal kick but that level of determination won a hearty cheer from the home faithful.
10 min: Khazri’s second corner is also decent and Kone, unmarked but craning backwards, heads it wide.
9 min: Neither team looking shy here so far. Now Sunderland win a well-placed free-kick out by the right touchline, and Khazri has the chance to do rather better. He does ... and Rodwell gets up to win a header that Elliot has to flip over the bar!
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8 min: First opportunity for Newcastle! Townsend makes a threatening run down the right, clips the ball in and Mitrovic, getting across Kone, flashes a volley over!
7 min: Borini wins the first corner of the game after a tussle with Wijnaldum. Khazri outswings from the right but it’s a terrible, scuffed, bobbly kick and swept away before it can reach the near post.
6 min: Janmaat links well with Perez in a tight area on the right, and finds space to swing a cross in – but Mannone catches.
5 min: Sunderland certainly shading the early skirmishes, with Newcastle’s defence happy to take a “get rid” approach. But as I write, Sissoko bundles past Kirchoff on the left before slightly overrunning the ball as he bursts into the area.
3 min: Half-chance for Defoe. Borini heads down a Van Aanholt cross and Defoe – who could & should leave it for the well-placed Khazri, actually – controls and spins before shooting over from eight yards.
1 min: Borini tries to play Defoe in early on, and then Sissoko attempts much the same for Perez. Neither quite pays off but it’s a ferocious early tempo.
Peeeeeeep! Away we go in this massive Tyne-Wear derby!!
Sunderland, left to right, get us started. This. Is. Big.
And out they come. My word, what a roar at St James’ Park! This sounds absolutely electric.
The teams are lining up in the tunnel, Sunderland in that atrocious all-green away getup. I was at their game at Upton Park a few weeks ago when their away fans were all offered a free green shirt; the takeup was certainly not 100%
“Now, I love bacon in the morning as much as the next guy, but Michael Cosgrove is living in the land of chocolate bread for breakfast!” blasts an outraged Matt Dony. “It might indeed be a big game for Townsend. What do you expect from him? I’ll go out on a limb and guess that he just might run fast up the wing, cut in, and shoot. A lot.”
You might be onto something there.
“We have to control our emotions, be aggressive and play the game in the right manner. I think Rafa will have an effect and we’ll have to see what positions they line up in. In many ways tactics will go out of the window,” says Allardyce.
“I will try to do my best but the players will be the most important people. We are expecting a physical game, we have to deal with that and play football,” says Benitez.
To level up that rather unpleasant stat – for Newcastle fans anyway – at the top of the show, Benitez has beaten Allardyce in seven of their 12 meetings. He’ll fancy himself today, I reckon.
“I’m munching away on scrambled eggs on toast, racking my brains for a Premier League team that can rival Sunderland in terms of general dullness for a prolonged number of years,” says Martin McCarthy. “Can you think of any?”
Good question, Martin. Aston Villa, surely, until this year’s absolute hilarity. West Brom have, certainly this season, done a very good job of going unnoticed.
Might be a big game for Andros Townsend, this. It’s only his fourth start for Newcastle and he hasn’t exactly set things alight yet – but he should be able to help them set a good early tempo, along with Sissoko on the other flank. In fact, you look at that midfield quartet and think there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be on the front foot, although there is a question mark or two about their ability to win the ball back.
There is another game taking place at 1.30pm, too – Southampton hosting Europa League quarter-finalists Liverpool. I’ll keep you in touch with anything noteworthy that goes on there.
“Living in France as I do I sometimes miss certain things about Blighty such as pubs and their beer, going to matches and many more,” writes Michael Cosgrove. “So that’s why my Sunday brunch consisted of an English breakfast of bacon,sausage, beans, an egg and fried tomato with HP sauce. Say what you like about the supposed excellence of yer forrin food, nobody does breakfast like us Brits! **burp**”
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For some excellent context on what is a huge occasion, I heartily recommend this piece by Jonathan Wilson – a man who knows the area far better than most:
Townsend and Mbemba start for Newcastle in place of Taylor and Anita. That looks a quite attack-minded lineup by Benitez, to me.
For Sunderland, Jermain Defoe comes back in for Dame N’Doye.
Thoughts? Gripes? Predictions? Descriptions of your Sunday brunch? You have 51 minutes to get ‘em in.
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This afternoon's lineups
Newcastle: Elliot; Janmaat, Mbemba, Lascelles, Colback; Sissoko, Shelvey, Wijnaldum, Townsend; Perez, Mitrovic. Subs: Darlow, Anita, Taylor, Saivet, De Jong, Riviere, Cisse.
Sunderland: Mannone; Yedlin, Kone, Kaboul, van Aanholt; Kirchhoff, M’Vila, Rodwell, Khazri, Borini; Defoe. Subs: Pickford, Jones, O’Shea, Cattermole, Lens, Toivonen, N’Doye.
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Hello, team!
Hopefully you’re not going anywhere for a good few hours. It’s Derby Day, and we kick off with what has been billed as the biggest Tyne-Wear bunfight in 30 years. Newcastle and Sunderland have both given fans of slapstick plenty to work with this season but it gets rather more serious today: Rafa Benitez’s team sit four points shy of 17th-placed Norwich, and Sam Allardyce’s men three adrift. This is one of two games in hand for both, but the Canaries’ win at West Brom yesterday hastened the need for some proper form to be hit in the north-east.
Hold on, did I say “Benitez” and “Allardyce”? If this one seemed spicy enough for the reasons above, the throbbing enmity between the dugouts should be worth monitoring in its own. Benitez’s home debut pits him against a man who has wound him up good and proper down the years, and you sense that – on his side at least – any pleasantries will be strictly perfunctory. You could call it a diet version of Mourinho v Guardiola, should that end up taking place in Manchester next season, but it’s rather more heavyweight than that today – it seems inconceivable that one of these two will probably be managing a team relegated to the Championship in two months’ time.
Newcastle showed some encouraging signs at Leicester on Monday. No great shakes going forward but there was a clear structure evident and on another day Benitez would have come away with a highly encouraging draw. Moussa Sissoko, who can be so frustrating, looked galvanised too. Sunderland have drawn two in a row, against Crystal Palace and Southampton, and dropped points in both after taking the lead. Their performances haven’t been so bad of late though, either, so both managers have reason to believe this will be their afternoon.
Allardyce more so than Benitez, if history has its way. You probably know about the hex Sunderland have recently imposed over Newcastle at St James’ Park by now. They have won their last three visits 3-0, 3-0 and 1-0 – and have won the last six league meetings on either turf ... although all good things have to come to an end.
Stay tuned and we’ll see what happens. Kick-off is at 1,30pm, UK time; do send your emails and tweets to the addresses above.
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Nick will be along shortly. In the meantime why not have a read of the latest news ahead of the game:
There has been considerable talk about the break clause in Rafael Benítez’s three-year contract at Newcastle United, but it seems Sam Allardyce may have a similar arrangement with Sunderland.
While no one expects Benítez to stick around on Tyneside should his new team be relegated, it had been thought that if Sunderland went down Allardyce would remain in charge at the Stadium of Light.
You can read the full story here.
