Sunderland Mimic Iconic Newcastle Team Photo After Crucial Local Rivalry Triumph.
A different manager and an almost completely different team – but the club at Sunderland remembered vividly.
Nearly two years ago, after Newcastle's thumping 3-0 win at the Stadium of Light in an FA Cup tie, the Geordies marked the occasion with a team picture on the pitch.
On this occasion, the roles were reversed.
Nick Woltemade's mistake proved sufficient to hand Sunderland a memorable win over their rivals in the return of the Premier League Tyne-Wear derby since 2016 – prompting the hosts to stage their own version of Newcastle's iconic snapshot at full-time.
“Always unpredictable, creative, adaptive,” remarked Black Cats manager Regis le Bris when pressed about who suggested the gesture.
Defender Dan Ballard, who scored an own goal in that cup defeat, was the only Sunderland player to start in the two games.
He revealed how he desperately wanted to avenge the loss, stating: “You cannot describe [the feeling]. It was so painful for the players and for the fans. We felt we had let them down, so we're ecstatic with this win.”
“It served as motivation. We came in with more quality in this team, true characters, we dug deep, fought really hard and I thought we deserved the win.”
‘Derbies you have to win, it does not matter how’
Seventh-placed Sunderland are having a superb return to the top flight after promotion via the play-offs last season.
The Black Cats have a tally of 26 points in 16 games, their highest total at this stage of a Premier League campaign since 2000-01.
They are yet to lose in the league at the Stadium of Light, which boasted an incredible atmosphere for most of Sunday afternoon.
“In local rivalry matches, the result is everything, the performance secondary,” said captain Granit Xhaka. “This team deserves much more – where we are in the league is remarkable and we're working really hard.”
Sunderland are also without a loss in their last 10 league games against Newcastle, their best-ever streak without defeat against the Magpies.
Newcastle's last league win over Sunderland was over a decade ago.
Manager Regis le Bris said he was “extremely pleased” with the performance.
“It was a derby and we were expected [to win] of our fans,” he added. “This win is rightfully earned, we were disciplined and the lads were superb.”
“It's fantastic for the local community, the club, the fans. We knew before it was a special game, but we have to turn the page as we have another difficult test in Brighton in one week.”
