Newcastle 0-3 Sunderland: 5 Lessons Learned From One Sided Derby

4. Magpies Striker Woes Continue, But Reasons To Be Cheerful

On the other side of the coin, Newcastle were profligate in the extreme. It seems as if the midweek blip has begun to turn into a major problem €“ where once Newcastle had no difficulties rippling the net, they've now failed to do so in five of the last six games. It's obviously a cause for concern, but in Alan Pardew's defence, his hands were very much tied. With Yoann Gouffran and Papiss Cisse injured and Loic Remy suspended after blowing his top against the Canaries, the former Southampton man only had Shola Ameobi available to lead the line. While Ameobi's something of a hero for his derby day exploits €“ before this weekend's fixture, he'd notched in seven of the previous ten Tyne-Wear fixtures €“ a barren run of 28 games shows he's not exactly the attacking tyro Newcastle need right now. But all's not lost €“ despite the lop-sided scoreline, the Magpies weren't exactly short of invention and Black Cats keeper Vito Mannone had to be at his best to keep out a screamer from Cheick Tiote and occasionally Newcastle's midfield produced moments of decent attacking quality. In summary €“ and later pointed out by Alan Pardew €“ Newcastle's major problem was a lack of composure in the final third. With Remy and Gouffran back, the problems won't seem nearly as severe.