Newcastle stay composed to dump rivals Sunderland out of FA Cup
While the opening stages of the first Wear-Tyne derby in eight years were a little anit-climatic on the pitch, a raucous atmosphere in the stands was providing more than enough entertainment.
Blood and thunder was the main order of play, but there was a sense that a moment of magic was needed to really ignite the game - something Sean Longstaff almost provided on two occasions, but both his efforts from six-yards out never really threatened to break the deadlock.
As it happened, it was more of a stroke of luck that opened the scoring - with Newcastle the beneficiaries of it. Joelinton was the architect, breaking down the inside left, and while Alexander Isak was waiting to tap in his teasing delivery, Dan Ballard didn’t give him the chance, turning the ball into his own net from under the Swede’s nose.
Newcastle certainly grew into the game as it went on, and they could probably count themselves a little unlucky not to have taken a two-goal lead into the break when Miguel Almiron’s acrobatic effort drifted narrowly wide of the post.
In truth, trailing by just a solitary goal at HT was probably something Sunderland would’ve been fairly content with, but within a minute of the restart, they shot themselves in the foot.
Pierre Ekwah had his pocket picked on the edge of his own area by Almirón, who took the unselfish route of squaring for Isak to strike into the corner of an empty net.
That didn’t necessarily throw Michael Beale’s side off too much, and they almost hit back instantly when Alex Pritchard’s 30-yard rocket crashed off the crossbar.
Pritchard looked most likely to grab a consolation for the hosts, and he did at least force Martin Dúbravka into his first meaningful action of the afternoon 15 minutes from time when he beat away his curling effort.
That proved to be as close as the Mackems came to salvaging an ounce of pride, and there was yet more misery heaped upon them when Isak converted from the penalty spot, as they missed the chance to win a fourth-straight home H2H for the first time ever.
Newcastle were the beneficiaries of their misfortune, with the massive win not only easing some pressure on Eddie Howe, but also ending a nine-match winless run against their bitter foes.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Miguel Almiron (Newcastle United)