Sunderland 0-1 Newcastle - Match Review

Newcastle remain top dogs in the North East, after triumphing yet again over their Wearside rivals. A 1-0 Victory in a hard fought encounter at the Stadium of Light means that Newcastle have lost only one of their last 13 matches against Sunderland.

The Wearsiders were on top for large portions of the game, particularly in the first half, but they failed to make their dominance show and were punished by a Newcastle side that were particularly well organised. The hosts wasted their best opportunities through Stephane  Sessegnon and Asamoah Gyan, and they were duly punished when Ryan Taylor's cross-come-shot found the back of the net.

Newcastle winger, Jonas Gutierrez was felled by Lee Cattermole in the 62nd minute, and Taylor duly stepped up and dispatched the resulting free-kick with great aplomb, culrling his effort from the far left, across the body of outstretched 'keeper Simon Mignolet, and into the top corner of the Sunderland goal.

Taylor's goal ensured that the majority of the 48,000 supporters present left unhappy, with Sunderland yet again being unable to take anything from their derby day opponents.

Ryan Taylor's freekick finds the back of the Sunderland net. 

Despite Sunderland's dominance, it could be argued the Geordie faithful should have had more than just a single goal to celebrate, as Joey Barton was denied a goal after only 15 minutes, when Sunderland new boy Sebastian Larsson appeared to clear Barton's header off the line with his arm. The Incensed Newcastle midfielde raced towards referee Howard Webb, but only a corner resulted. For Webb's sake, it was fortunate that this moment of controversy did affect the outcome of the game.

Sunderland lost defender Phil Bardsley late on after a agricultural challenge on Magpie defender Fabricio Coloccini lead to his second yellow card, and was an illustration of the Black Cat's frustration. It was one of many moments of unfair tackling in an keenly fought,match and it could be argued that referee Webb did well to keep 22 players on the pitch for as long as he did, with both Cabaye and Cattermole both making fouls that in other games perhaps would have been worthy of red cards.

The win gives Newcastle four points from their opening 2 games, and with the hope that Pardew is able to invest further in the team in the next 10 days, Newcastle look to be a capable premier league side that could potentially challenge for a top half position.