IT felt like history repeating, but actually it was anything but.
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Sunderland were soon being overrun in midfield and were fortunate to escape punishment when Newcastle carved out three openings in quick succession midway through the half. Again, that has happened plenty of times in the recent past and left Newcastle fans shaking their heads.
The Tyne and Wear rivalry is a bubble that only seems to become more inflated as the wider context of its constitute parts slip further into the mire.
Madley though saw things differently, regarding Coloccini’s intervention as an unfair charge which denied Fletcher an obvious scoring chance.
Despite the defeat McClaren was pleased with his team, insisting they are playing impressive football. And yet they still suffered another 3-0 defeat.
Access all areas at Sunderland’s record-breaking derby win.
Coloccini, Jack Colback and Wijnaldum had all forced saves from Costel Pantilimon, who later kept them in front with a vital stop from Aleksandar Mitrovic 10 minutes after the break before Billy Jones and Fletcher put the game beyond them.
The referee awarded the spot-kick straight away, dismissing the Newcastle skipper before Johnson stepped up to fire the penalty into the bottom corner in the third minute of first-half stoppage time.
But Newcastle headed up the A19 feeling mugged and harbouring a raging sense of injustice following the 45th minute incident which swung the match dramatically Sunderland’s way.
Newcastle and Sunderland defined their pre-seasons with a wealth of transfer business, hoping to build on their poor seasons last term with plans to enjoy better campaigns this time round.
Madley’s decision incensed Newcastle manager Steve McClaren, while Magpies defender Darryl Janmaat labeled it as “unbelievable”. Steve McClaren’s side did not have an answer to the Argentine’s outburst, but found a few groove of their own, hitting six past Norwich City in their last game. It wasn’t to be but the lads battled on really well, especially with ten men.
The derby can chew up managers and spit them out irredeemably damaged. They’re instead battles over pride, bragging rights and, increasingly these days, survival. That said, though, goodness knows what the reaction will be like if he doesn’t stop the rot next March.
What about Newcastle’s players?
“It’s there for everyone to see – when you look at the league, everyone is talking about it”. Defoe squeezed Newcastle a bit more and caused more problems. Newcastle supporters have been humiliated before, but never quite like this, against their biggest rivals and supposedly poor relations.
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Penalty, red card, goal.
