Football: Premier League - Newcastle vs Sunderland Match Report

Sunderland earned a magnificent 3-0 win in today’s Tyneside Derby, boosting their chances of retaining their Premier League status.

It was an enthralling match from start to finish, with three magnificent goals from Stephane Sessegnon, Adam Johnson and David Vaughan helping Sunderland pick up their first victory in ten matches, and the first of the Paolo Di Canio era.

Sunderland looked strong from the start, pushing higher up the pitch than we have seen throughout much of the season and an early penalty shout for Danny Graham set the tone for the day.

Sessegnon scored the first of the three goals on 26 minutes when McClean latched on to a loose Jonas pass, releasing Sessegnon who buried his shot from outside the box into the bottom left corner.

Newcastle upped the pressure after the goal, with Mignolet making a couple of fantastic saves from the on-form Papiss Cisse. Right on the stroke of half time Mignolet made another  save from Jonas with the resulting corner being cleared off the line.

A coming together between Steven Taylor and Mignolet resulted in an angry scuffle between the two teams with Taylor picking up a yellow card for his troubles.

After the break Newcastle lacked the intensity they had following the first half goal and things went from bad to worse when Tim Krul had to leave the field following a heavy fall on his elbow, being replaced by Rob Elliot.

Newcastle have a right to feel aggrieved about a disallowed goal scored by Cisse for supposedly being in an offside position, when in reality, the linesman got the decision wrong. At the other end of the pitch, Newcastle were lucky to escape a penalty after Yanga-Mbiwa accidently handled the ball in his own area.

As the half progressed Newcastle began to build up a head of steam, with Cisse having yet another shot saved by Mignolet. But it was Sunderland who struck again, a fantastic Adam Johnson strike buried past substitute keeper Elliot.

Di Canio celebrates his first victory.
Source: ESPN.co.uk

The second goal completely deflated Newcastle and Sunderland finished the job off with a brilliantly struck left footed shot by David Vaugha

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The win today moves Sunderland three points clear of the drop, although with Wigan’s two games in hand they are still deep into the relegation battle. However, if Di Canio can continue to get his team to play as they did today, it seems highly unlikely that they will be playing in the Championship next season.

Newcastle are also still heavily involved in the relegation battle, with their Europa League campaign looking to have taken its toll, they will have to step it up if they want to steer clear of the relegation zone, as they are currently only two points above Sunderland, with five games yet to play.