The 150th Tyne-Wear derby has been and gone, and once again it was embarrassment for Newcastle United as they slid to second consecutive 0-3 loss to their near-neighbours in a one-sided encounter. A penalty from Fabio Borini, a tap-in from Adam Johnson and a good Jack Colback finish meant the visitors retained regional bragging rights during a bad-tempered match at St. James' Park which saw three disgruntled Newcastle fans invade the pitch the first attempting to give Magpies manager Alan Pardew his season ticket. However, up in the gods of the Sir John Hall stand, the Black Cats' bumper away following couldn't have had a more different experience leading inside twenty minutes, cruising before the end of the first half and putting the gloss on before the game was over, the only hardship the travelling Mackems had was which songs to sing. Yet they had good reason to be singing, as the result was an accurate reflection of both sides' overall performance Sunderland shot out the blocks and improved as time went on, while the beleaguered Magpies looked all at sea in defence and increasingly blunted in attack. But beyond these surface observations, what else did Saturday#s game show us? Read on and find out, and feel free to pelt me with fruit in the comments section below. Just don't punch my horse.
Durham University graduate and qualified sports journalist. Very good at sitting down and watching things. Can multi-task this with playing computer games. Football Manager addict who has taken Shrewsbury Town to the summit of the Premier League.
You can follow me at @Ed_OwenUK, if you like ramblings about Newcastle United and A Place in the Sun. If you don't, I don't know what I can do for you.
