Louise Taylor was at the Stadium of Light and her report has landed. Thanks for reading this MBM.
Michael Beale’s turn. “The two goals we let in during the second half were really poor … the first half we weren’t tidy enough with the ball … defensively our shape was good … we know they’re a high-quality team … we wasn’t able to hurt them … in the second half we had a couple of efforts … ultimately on the day there was a difference between the teams in experience and knowhow … it’s feedback for us … it’s really valuable if we’re honest with ourselves in terms of moving forward … that won’t be good words for the fans to hear right now because it’s a derby but it’s the reality of where we are with the team … we want to give the young players opportunity and responsibility and today was a big day in terms of feedback but we have to improve … it will help us in our campaign in the Championship for sure.”
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Eddie Howe talks to ITV. “It feels great … I always thought [the draw] was a good thing for us … providing you win, of course! … the lads were excellent … we did a professional job … we handled the occasion well … we were brave with the ball … we were composed … we didn’t let them get a head of steam up and use the crowd … everything they were trying to do we took away from them in the first half … we’re still a bit off our best but it was a step forward … hopefully the forward momentum can continue.”
Dan Burn speaks to ITV. “It’s special … there was a lot of build-up so to come through with a win and clean sheet, I’m very happy … it’s been a long time since we played this sort of game … everyone was excited … if you’d have asked the fans whether we would have went through in the Champions League or beat Sunderland, I’m pretty sure they’d have said beat Sunderland! … they’re a good team, Sunderland … it was a great day, the crowd really made it … we want to win something … it’s been such a long time … if we could win the FA Cup it’d be amazing.”
Newcastle were in control of that from the get-go. Sunderland’s young Championship team couldn’t cope with their pace and press; Dan Ballard was forced into an own goal, Pierre Ekwah gifted Alexander Isak a second, and Ballard’s crude shove on Anthony Gordon allowed Isak to make it 3-0 for the Toon, a scoreline that on the balance of play doesn’t flatter the winners in the slightest. Maybe things would have panned out differently if one or both of Alex Pritchard’s decent second-half efforts had gone in, but one suspects Newcastle had a spare gear if they needed to find one. Newcastle go into the velvet bag for the fourth round, and can keep dreaming of winning the cup for the first time in 69 years; Sunderland’s own long wait, now stretched to 51 years, goes on.
FULL TIME: Sunderland 0-3 Newcastle United
Newcastle’s dream of a first FA Cup since 1955: step one complete!
90 min +5: A lot of Sunderland fans have left. The remaining Newcastle supporters have turned the volume up to Bedlam. They’ve waited a long time to celebrate a derby win, after all.
90 min +4: On ITV, Ally McCoist names Bruno Guimaraes as his player of the match. No complaints there.
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90 min +3: The board went up for three added minutes, but perhaps we’ll have more now after those subs.
90 min +2: Before the game can be restarted, Schar, Almiron, Gordon and Burn are replaced by Lascelles, Dummett, Livramento and Ritchie.
GOAL! Sunderland 0-3 Newcastle United (Isak 90 pen)
After the usual pre-penalty faff, Isak grabs the ball, pops it onto the spot, and whips it into the bottom left! Patterson sent flying the other way. Newcastle will win the derby for the first time in 13 years!
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Penalty for Newcastle!
88 min: Gordon scampers down the left at full pelt. He enters the box. Ballard comes across and brazenly shoves him in the back. The referee points straight to the spot.
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87 min: Ba immediately gets involved, taking a whack from the edge of the D that’s blocked, then dribbling around in circles in the hope of something opening up for him. Nothing does. You have to wonder why Ba wasn’t sent on earlier.
85 min: Almiron fizzes a low cross through the Sunderland box from the right. There’s nobody there to poke home. Sunderland are looking ragged now, and Rusyn is replaced by Ba.
84 min: Guimaraes slips Almiron into space down the right. Almiron cuts back from the byline but can’t find Isak. The hosts clear up.
83 min: Newcastle continue to stroke it about. Alese, full of frustration, puts an end to the sequence by clipping Almiron to the ground.
81 min: Newcastle are in full control, as they have been all the way through. “Going out on a limb here and saying that O’Nien enjoyed taking that yellow,” observes Matthew Lysaght, not incorrectly.
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79 min: Trippier curls it in, but Alese clears. Clarke however passes straight to a Newcastle shirt, and suddenly Gordon is clear in the box on the right. He creams a low shot inches wide of the left-hand post. Yet another chance gift-wrapped by the hosts.
78 min: Miley ships possession in the middle of the park, allowing Clarke to drive upfield. But he can’t decide whether to shoot or not, and is eventually stripped of the ball. Gordon counters, and is clumsily clattered by O’Nein, who goes into the book. Free kick for the Toon out on the left.
76 min: Trippier wrestles with Clarke out on the left, and it’s a free kick to Sunderland, who load the box. Pritchard swings in, but can’t beat the first man Isak. Newcastle can’t decisively clear, but Guimaraes competes with determination and eventually draws a clumsy foul from Neil. Pressure off.
74 min: Pritchard has another look from distance, and again goes close. He sashays down the middle and aims an outside-of-boot low curler towards the bottom left. Dubravka needs to extend and stick out a strong arm to tip away. That’s a fine shot with a save to match.
72 min: Guimaraes is booked for sliding in late on Pritchard. He can have no complaints, yet files one with the referee anyway. He’d be wise to pipe down, lest he follow up his 13th booking of the season with number 14 in short order.
70 min: The Newcastle fans behind the Sunderland goal are making a lot of noise. The Sunderland fans, not so much. Understandably so: Pritchard’s long-range hoick aside, the hosts haven’t really looked like getting back into this.
68 min: A brave, brave, brave block by O’Nien. Ballard scuffs a clearance. Almiron returns it with vicious intent. He pearls a wonderful shot, and the ball’s flying in. However O’Nein takes the ball full in the face to deny Newcastle a third goal. That’s some committed defending! Nothing comes of the resulting corner.
66 min: For the first time, the match threatens to kick off. Gordon loses his rag after a fair arm-lock grapple with Hume. He throws him away, and Hume grabs a strand of his shirt. Ballard comes over to make the peace (i.e. turn up the heat) and there’s a bit of push and shove. Eventually the referee books Gordon, but spares Hume a second yellow.
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65 min: Newcastle play some possession football. Time ticks on.
63 min: Bellingham strides down the middle and is shoved over from behind by Gordon. Just a free kick, with the Newcastle man slightly fortunate not to go into the book.
61 min: Pritchard is booked for yapping away at the referee over a garden-variety skirmish in midfield.
60 min: Newcastle get the ball back and stroke it around in the grand style. Now it’s the turn of the away fans to have their say, and they crack out the olés, which will hurt, seeing we’re just an hour in.
59 min: But Sunderland aren’t quite finished yet! Pritchard advances down the middle and from 25 yards sends a swerving, speculative, long-distance effort over Dubravka and off the top of the crossbar! Goal kick, but that’s got the previously subdued home fans going again.
57 min: Miley and Isak combine crisply down the inside-left channel. Hume stops the striker getting a shot away with a perfectly timed block tackle. It had to be perfect, too, seeing the challenge was in the box and Hume is already on a yellow.
56 min: Guimaraes closes down an Ekwah clearance. The ball pings out for a goal kick, and the Brazilian celebrates in front of the away fans as though he’s just completed a hat-trick. Sunderland are really struggling now, and Newcastle are beginning to enjoy themselves.
54 min: In the stand, former Mackems keeper and boyhood fan Jordan Pickford watches on grimly. You can leave Sunderland, but Sunderland never leaves you. See also: Wilson, Jonathan.
52 min: Guimaraes spreads play towards Almiron on the right, then keeps going forward. He receives a return pass, and attempts to find Longstaff in the Sunderland box down the inside-right channel. He overcooks the pass, and Longstaff is offside anyway. Sunderland look a little shell-shocked after the blow of that second goal.
50 min: An own goal and a defensive cock-up. Sunderland have been the architects of their own downfall, even if they’ve been harried into their mistakes by Newcastle’s relentless thrust.
48 min: Ekwah tries to make amends by cutting in from the left and shooting low and hard. The ball pings off Botman and sails towards the bottom left, with Dubravka having gone the other way. But the keeper sticks out a leg to hack away. That’s a wonderful reaction save. Sunderland so close to repairing the damage of that early second-half blooper.
47 min: Joelinton, who picked up that knock just before half time, is replaced by Miley.
GOAL! Sunderland 0-2 Newcastle United (Isak 46)
A mere 32 seconds after the restart, Newcastle double their lead! Ekwah dawdles on the ball on the edge of his own box. Almiron strips him and rolls the ball to his left, where Isak slots into the right-hand side of the net from 12 yards. What a disaster for the hosts! What pressing by Almiron!
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Newcastle get the second half underway. No changes. Meanwhile here’s Simon McMahon, who one suspects could crowbar the topic of Dundee United into an album review, an essay on JFK conspiracy theories, or the operating instructions for a washing machine. Today he squeezes it into a Tyne-Wear derby MBM. “I’m currently enjoying hospitality at Tannadice before Dundee United host Morton, courtesy of my very generous, and United daft, daughter Evie - free bar included, what could possibly go wrong? - and am glad to report there’s been no Morton colours or slogans slapped onto the walls by the United hierarchy. Though there might some even more unpleasant sights later. Glass of wine, sir? Another Baileys? Don’t mind if I do.”
“Is it just me who thinks the shirt colours are far too similar?” asks Dave Glass. No it’s not, Dave. Here’s Euan Lawson.
I am colourblind - just like one in 12 men and one in 200 women. It adds up to a whole lot of people. The red stripes look dark to me and the only way I can tell the difference between the two teams is by looking at shorts/socks. It is horrible and almost unwatchable. The FA does have guidance on this. I understand the classic colours of a Tyne-Wear derby are iconic but the contrast is so poor that I suspect even those with normal colour vision are struggling today. What were they thinking?
Half-time entertainment. Better times for Sunderland can be found within.
HALF TIME: Sunderland 0-1 Newcastle United
Newcastle have been utterly dominant, and this scoreline is the very least they deserve. Sunderland haven’t threatened Martin Dubravka’s goal at all.
45 min +3: Joelinton’s really unhappy, still, but at least he’s not injured. He’s up and about and chuntering on at the assistant referee, on account of having to stand on the sidelines for 30 seconds.
45 min +2: Joelinton goes down holding his right leg. Play is stopped. He’s not happy, having been shoved in the back by Rusyn. Has he strained something while landing awkwardly?
45 min +1: The first of three added first-half minutes passes without incident.
45 min: A ball swung into the Sunderland box from the left by Guimaraes. Almiron meets it on the right-hand edge of the six-yard box, and swivels a volley across Patterson and inches wide of the bottom-left corner. He didn’t quite catch that properly, but it so nearly bobbled in anyway. Had it been on target, the keeper was never getting there.
44 min: Gordon has an opportunity to release Isak down the middle but his pass is intercepted by the wily Ballard. He’s been magnificent so far, the fairly major caveat of the own goal notwithstanding.
43 min: Another dangerous run by Gordon down the left. He’s beginning to cause Sunderland an awful lot of trouble. The visitors probing for a second, and probably decisive, goal before the break.
41 min: Trippier swings the free kick into a crowded box. Ballard gets above Burn, no mean feat, to eyebrow the ball out for a corner. Trippier loops that one in too, but Isak can’t meet the ball, six yards out, and Sunderland clear their lines.
39 min: Gordon drops a shoulder to get past Hume on the left. Hume sticks out a cynical leg to stop him. Into the book he goes. Having been left behind by Joelinton for the goal, it’s been a difficult few minutes for the Sunderland right-back. A free kick in a dangerous position.
37 min: Poor Ballard looks absolutely wrecked. He’s been Sunderland’s best player so far, too. When it all comes down, he’ll realise he had no option but to roll the dice; if he hadn’t tried to clear, Isak would have scored anyway. But he’ll be feeling the sting right now. In any case, on the balance of play, the lead is deserved.
GOAL! Sunderland 0-1 Newcastle United (Ballard 35 og)
Newcastle come again, and break the deadlock. Joelinton bursts into space down the left and whips a low cross into the six-yard box. Isak is waiting to tap home. Ballard has to make some sort of intervention, and sticks out a leg, only to shin the ball at speed into the bottom right. Newcastle lead the derby!
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34 min: Burn releases Gordon down the left with a lovely precision pass. Gordon cuts back for Longstaff, who blooters wildly over the bar. Another big miss, but no matter for Newcastle, because …
32 min: VAR would have taken two days to rock and roll the footage of that incident. Ballard had a little handful of Isak’s shirt, sure, but the striker went down awfully easily. With more determination, he’d have surely been able to gain the yard required to take a shot. It seemed a fair shoulder-to-shoulder bout.
30 min: Almiron strips Clarke in the middle of the park, and suddenly Newcastle are on the break. The ball’s shuttled forward for Isak, who looks like breaking clear on goal … only for Ballard to stick to his right shoulder with grim determination. Both grapple, both go over on the edge of the box. The ball’s gathered by Patterson. Newcastle want a penalty, but the referee waves play on. That looked like six and half a dozen. No VAR. Yes!
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29 min: Schar tries to release Almiron with a long 1980s-style punt forward. Easy meat for Patterson. Sunderland will be happy to see Newcastle resort to this.
27 min: Ekwah looks for Bellingham with a speculative ball down the inside-right channel. Not quite. But this is better from Sunderland, who haven’t been under the cosh exactly, but have certainly been second best.
26 min: Sunderland haven’t spent much time in Newcastle’s half. They attempt to rectify that by press, press, pressing, and slowly nudge the action upfield. They’re never in control of the ball, but bitty action in the other half is a baby step forward.
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24 min: Trippier attempts to release Almiron down the inside-right channel with a slide-rule pass, but Ballard gets across to usher the ball out of play for a goal kick. That’s fine defending. Most of Newcastle’s attacks are coming down this flank.
22 min: Alese and Longstaff clatter into each other in the middle of the park at warp speed. No quarter given. No complaints, either, as the pair get up and acknowledge each other’s hard-but-fair game. Play goes on, and Longstaff pops up again, this time in the Sunderland box, flicking a low Trippier cross wide and high from close range. That was a big chance.
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20 min: Guimaraes cuts into the Sunderland box from the right and aims a low curler goalwards. The ball clanks Ballard in the chest. Newcastle claim a penalty, but they’re not getting one. The ball may have hit Ballard’s arm, perhaps, but it was folded across the front of his chest. No pen, and the ref agrees. We play on. No VAR! Yes sir!
19 min: Now Gordon goes down dramatically, having been tripped by Hume. Again, just a free kick, but Sunderland are putting down a couple of markers here.
17 min: Clarke catches Botman late as the defender high-kicks a loose ball upfield. Botman rolls around a lot. The referee stops the game to check the big man is OK. No VAR today, which is nice. A garden-variety free kick, nothing more.
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16 min: Sunderland are struggling to keep hold of the ball, and get out of their own half. Newcastle are dominating both in terms of possession and territory.
14 min: Trippier takes a big run-up and does indeed have a pelt for goal. It’s way too ambitious a distance, though, and his effort deflects through the wall and trundles into the arms of Patterson.
13 min: Joelinton is flipped into the air by Bellingham, 30 yards out in a central position. Probably too far out for Trippier to go direct … but we’ll see.
12 min: Almiron plays a cute ball down the right in the hope of releasing Trippier, who attempts to cross only to be blocked by Ballard. A no-nonsense block and another strong challenge that’s very much appreciated by the home fans.
11 min: This game is, you’ll be unsurprised to learn, being played at 101mph. Both sets of supporters are serenading each other in the keys of F and Jeff.
9 min: Ekwah, playmaking from deep, attempts to release Clarke down the left with a raking diagonal pass. Too strong; goal kick. But full marks for ambition.
7 min: There’s a pause in play. Craig Pawson’s wireless link to his linesfolk is jiggered. Some new kit is fetched. We play on. “Mix of excitement and fear here,” writes John Davis. “Father in law is a Sunderland fan, have a feeling this match might decide which way my six year old goes. Stuck in a school hall for a birthday party following on my phone. The things we do for children.”
5 min: Pritchard and Hume take turns to go into tackles hard. Both are fair, and the crowd love them. What. An. Atmosphere.
3 min: Newcastle fair flew out of the blocks there. Sunderland’s young side need some respite, and they get it as Rusyn tears down the right to gain some ground. He wins a throw and the hosts can take their first breather of the afternoon.
2 min: Newcastle quickly snatch possession of the ball and Trippier wins a corner down the right. Bellingham heads clear, but Trippier swings a cross in again from his wing. Patterson fingertips away nervously, but does enough. Just. And then a third Trippier delivery from the right! Longstaff flicks goalwards from close range but straight at Patterson, who blocks. What a start by Newcastle this is!
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Sunderland get the ball rolling. “Do I have to watch it?” asks Newcastle fan Richard Slassor. “I feel sick again after all of these years not having to think about our neighbours down the road. I must remind myself: it’s only football, you’re 60 man.”
The teams are out! Things you don’t need to be told:
1. Sunderland wear their red and white stripes
2. Newcastle sport their black and white stripes
3. There is one heck of an anticipatory roar rumbling around the Stadium of Light right now
What an atmosphere! Well, it is the first Tyne-Wear derby since 2016 after all. It’s a crack, they’re back.
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Michael Beale, who has experience of the odd local skirmish in Glasgow, speaks to ITV. “It’s special … it’s special to both cities … it’s special to people in the north-east … for the FA Cup and the third round it’s fantastic to have this game back after so long … it’s two different teams … one has been heavily invested … one is a young team doing well in the Championship … so there’s a great background story in the game … you can see everyone’s looking forward to it … it’s an opportunity to be taken … they’ll get feedback from the game … it’s Newcastle’s strongest midfield so what an opportunity for them to go up against them … certainly a derby at home you can’t get a better opportunity than that … we need to play our style … we’re a football team and we play on the floor … a lot of combination play … we need to be strong defensively and show some respect as well … we’ve had clean sheets which has been a step forward but this is a bigger challenge than that.”
Our pre-match postbag is teeming with an email. Chris Paraskevas has written it. “When it comes to the Tyne-Wear derby, literally anything is possible,” he begins. “I’m talking about events that really make you question reality: grown men punching horses, Kevin Nolan netting hat-tricks, Albert Luque actually scoring a goal (yes, it happened!). This is definitely a time for cool heads as far as the players are concerned. Passion, desire and grit are wonderful buzzwords but will only get you so far: can you keep your cool and pick the right pass at the crucial moment? Can you keep your emotions in check in the heat of battle? One thing’s for sure: our opponent’s aren’t going to roll out the black-and-white carpet and stick up big signs welcoming us.”
Eddie Howe speaks to ITV. “It’s a huge game for us, for lots of different reasons … it’s the FA Cup [which] we want to do well in … our recent run of form is not at the level we want it to be … and of course we’re playing our local rivals … it’s a huge one … we’ve got a lot of local players within the squad who know what the fixture means … if you’re in Newcastle for any length of time you come to realise the magnitude of this game … whenever [Kieran Trippier] is on the pitch I feel we’re a slightly different team … we have to focus on the principles of our game … we have to be at the highest level today … we have to keep 11 men on the pitch … we know it’s a really important moment in our season.”
Pre-match reading. Allow Louise Taylor and Barry Glendenning to set the scene.
Sunderland are in If It Ain’t Broke mode. Following the 2-0 Championship win over Preston North End, Michael Beale names the same starting XI.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe responds to the 4-2 Premier League defeat at Liverpool by making two changes. Miguel Almirón and captain Kieran Trippier return, displacing Tino Livramento and Lewis Miley, who drop to the bench.
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The teams
Sunderland: Patterson, Hume, O’Nien, Ballard, Alese, Ekwah, Neil, Pritchard, Bellingham, Clarke, Rusyn.
Subs: Pembele, Semedo, Burstow, Ba, Aouchiche, Seelt, Triantis, Bishop, Rigg.
Newcastle United: Dubravka, Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn, Longstaff, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton, Almiron, Isak, Gordon.
Subs: Dummett, Lascelles, Ritchie, Krafth, Karius, Hall, Livramento, Parkinson, Miley.
Referee: Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire).
Our starting XI to take on Newcastle United! 👊#SAFC | #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/lht4Bugd3N
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) January 6, 2024
HOWAY THE LADS! 🙌#SUNNEW // #NUFC pic.twitter.com/c8POSkVzIk
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) January 6, 2024
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Preamble
Haway/Howay† the Lads! † delete according to preference
On the face of it, this should be fairly easy to predict: it’s a match between a Championship team who have only recently replaced their manager after a series of disappointing results, and the richest club in the world. However, nothing’s ever that simple, is it? Let’s see.
1. It’s the third round of the FA Cup.
2. Sunderland have won two of their last three under new manager Michael Beale.
3. Newcastle have lost seven of their last eight if you include a penalty-shoot-out defeat snatched from the jaws of victory in the League Cup, which we do.
4. Newcastle haven’t tasted victory over Sunderland since August 2011, since when the Black Cats have beaten them six times in nine attempts.
So no, nothing’s ever that simple. The singular pressure of the Tyne-Wear derby applies to both sides, but it’s Newcastle who have to deal with the expectation that comes with being the Premier League favourites, and the extraneous noise regarding Eddie Howe’s current struggles won’t help. It’s almost perfectly poised for the neutral, who can kick back and enjoy the show; the denizens of the Stadium of Light and the travelling Toon army may however be a tad less relaxed ahead of the first big north-east derby in seven years. Kick off is at 12.45pm GMT. It’s on!
