Sunderland Recreate Famous Magpies Group Snapshot In the Wake of Pivotal Derby Win.
An altered coaching staff and an almost completely different team – but the club at Sunderland had a long memory.
Back in 2024, after a dominant Newcastle performance at the Stadium of Light in an FA Cup tie, the Geordies celebrated with a full squad photograph on the pitch.
Now, the roles were flipped.
Nick Woltemade's unfortunate deflection proved decisive to hand Sunderland a long-awaited 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 post-match snapshot at full-time.
“Always unpredictable, creative, adaptive,” said with a grin Black Cats manager Regis le Bris when pressed about who suggested the photograph.
Defender Dan Ballard, who conceded an own goal in that cup defeat, was the lone Sunderland player to start in both games.
He revealed how he desperately wanted to rectify the loss, stating: “It's indescribable. 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 earned the win.”
‘Rivalry games demand victory, regardless of the performance’
Seventh-placed Sunderland are experiencing a excellent return to the top flight post promotion via the play-offs last season.
The Black Cats have a tally of 26 points in 16 games, their most 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 had 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 amazing 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 “delighted and satisfied” with the result.
“It was a derby and we were carrying the hopes of our fans,” he stated. “This win is fully merited, we were mature and the lads were incredible.”
“It's fantastic for the area, the club, the fans. We knew before it was a unique game, but we have to refocus immediately as we have another hard game in Brighton in one week.”
