THE BIGGEST RIVALRY IN THE NORTH EAST
Newcastle vs Sunderland has been a historic rivalry for many years. It’s known as the north east derby (or the Tyne-wear derby) with just 19km separating the two cities. The first meeting between these two sides took place in 1883 however the first competitive fixture came in the fa cup which ended 2-0 to Sunderland. To date, both sides have won 53 times whilst the fixture has also ended a draw 50 times.
Police activity and disorder outside St James; park following the Tyne-Wear derby. [1]
The history of this rivalry dates back to the English civil war when protestations over advantages that merchants in royalist Newcastle had over their Wearside counterparts led to Sunderland becoming parliamentarian stronghold. The two clubs again found themselves on opposing sides during the Jacobsite risings, with Newcastle in support of the Hanoverians with the German King George, and Sunderland siding with the Scottish Stuarts. As you can already see, the history between these two clubs is huge which is a massive contributing factor as to why this is one of the biggest rivalries in football.
Hooliganism and violence have been prevalent in this fixture with 160 arrests coming in a match that took place in 2001. Similarly, in 1990 as Sunderland led the playoff semi-final 2-0 some Newcastle fans invaded the pitch in hope of getting the match abandoned. On April the 14th 2013 there were riots with Newcastle fans following a 3-0 defeat to Sunderland at st James park and this brought huge international news coverage as one Newcastle fan attacked the police horse and these riots led to 29 arrests and it also injured 4 police officers. The policing on match day for a Tyne-Wear derby is like no other and is a heavily anticipated fixture not just for the teams and fans involved but also for the neutrals.
How the black cats have dominated the fixture in recent times
In recent years the fixture has become one sided with Sunderland winning 6 and drawing one from the last seven meetings. However, the sides haven’t met since the 20th of March 2016 after Sunderland suffered back to back relegations to league one. Although the black cats do have a lot of memories to cherish in this fixture. In this piece we will focus on the last 7 meetings.
April 14th, 2013: Newcastle 0-3 Sunderland
One shot captured the current Sunderland manager Paolo Di canio perfectly. His infamous knee slide and the ruined Italian suit trousers could tell the story in pictures. The black cats hadn’t beat the Geordies at st James park for 13 years but in only Di Canio’s second game in charge brought a truly fantastic performance and result as the Italians mastermind ending the drought emphatically.
Victory slide: Di Canio celebrates Adam Johnson’s goal. (Daily Mail)
The first half was cagey, but a Stephane Sessegnon goal put them ahead and in control, but it wasn’t until 16 minutes from time when Adam Johnson struck from 20 yards that the already animated Italian could really let his emotions loose.
The Italian overwhelmed with emotion ran down the touchline and knee-slid his way down to celebrate with his players and then went on to spend several seconds thumping the air and thanking the football Gods.
October 27, 2013: Sunderland 2-1 Newcastle
Unfortunately for Di Canio that win was as good as it got after he was sacked by the time the next fixture was played. Gus poyet was in charge of this one and like Di Canio this was too his second game in charge as he led his team to a 2-1 victory over their bitter north east rivals at the stadium of light. The sides were level at 1-1 with just 10 minutes to play before a Fabio borino screamer put them ahead and gave them the bragging rights.
February 1, 2014: Newcastle 0-3 Sunderland
After just ten months on from Di canio’s antics the boys in red and white returned to St James’ and put three past the magpies to seal their third derby win in a row. This time the visitors led 2-0 at half time and controlled the game. Borini put the black cats ahead from the spot kick and Adam Johnson made in 2-0 inside the first half. Jack colback then lashed home a third 10 minutes from time to spark pandemonium in the away end.
December 21, 2014: Newcastle 0-1 Sunderland
Again, coming at St James’, Sunderland secured all three points although this time it was a dramatic 90thminute winner that saw Adam Johnson fire home the winner. Gus poyet pulled a similar facial expression to Di canio but opted against a knee slide down the touchline.
April 5, 2015: Sunderland 1-0
Sadly, for gus poyet his sides form outside of the derby did not translate well against other teams in the premier league and he was sacked in March 2015. Dick Advocaat was put in charge and him too faced Newcastle in only his second game in charge. In charge of Newcastle this time was John Carver who came in when Alan Pardew left for crystal place. But after all the change in the dugouts there wasn’t much change on the pitch as Sunderland again beat Newcastle in injury time thanks to a Jermaine Defoe belter in first half stoppage time. This result also completed the double for the second season in a row.
October 25, 2015: Sunderland 3-0 Newcastle
Again, in both dugouts it was all change as Steve McClaren came in taking over from John Carver whilst Sam Allardyce replaced Dick Advocaat at Sunderland. Incredibly Allardyce faced Newcastle in just his second game in charge as Sunderland manager and it again saw a victory for the new manager. However it wasn’t looking good for Sunderland in the first half as Newcastle dominated but a Fabio Coloccini red card completely changed the game as Adam Johnson scored the resulting penalty. The second half looked like boys against men as Newcastle lost their steam and captain which saw two second half goals from Jones and Fletcher witch again sealed all three points and the bragging rights for the black cats. This secured the 6th successive derby wins for Sunderland.
March 20, 2016: Newcastle 1- 1 Sunderland
This game was extremely important for both teams as they were both fighting relegation. Sunderland went ahead through a Jermaine Defoe goal but after it looked like Sunderland were going to come away with all three-points Alexander Mitrovic headed in the equaliser with less than ten minutes to go.
This rivalry will continue to be the most anticipated fixture in world football however Sunderland will need to get promoted to the championship this season in order for the fixture to take place any time soon and then again they may need promotion to the premier league should Newcastle survive in the premiership under Mike Ashley’s Ownership. Newcastle will hope to draw Sunderland in the fa cup or league cup in the meantime to continue the history and correct their recent downfalls in this famous match. With Newcastle looking to get taken over with new Arab owners the future looks bright for the Geordies and with premier league safety looking likely this season they will look to build on their season and there are talks of Pochettino coming in next season which will only create hope and optimism in the north east in black and white colours. Due to the current pandemic this taken over looks to be in uncertainty and this will only prolong the current situation with regards to who will be in charge next season. Steve Bruce’s contract runs out in a few months but will likely be extended until the end of the season which will end towards the end of June says the fa.
For Sunderland it looks to be another season of uncertainty as to where they will finish with automatic promotion just three points away but also play offs not a certainty as they sit 7th with ten games left to play. After the heart break off losing the play off final last season to Portsmouth, they won’t want to go through the process of the play offs again and risking another long hard season in the third tier of English football. With the recent spotlight on Sunderland after their Netflix series that has gained a lot of attention it looks to be a club back on the rise with new ownership that are willing to do anything for the better of the club. A young team has been assembled by current manager Phil Parkinson who replaced Ross after a turbulent season with some fans chanting him out. A happy crowd is key to the success of this football club and the city will need to be united with just ten games remaining to secure a spot in the championship which will be one step closer back to the premier league.
Article written by Mark Marston UCFB football business and media student.
Football Club Rivalries 