Substitute Fabio Borini scored five minutes from time to hand Sunderland their first Premier League victory of the season over rivals Newcastle United afternoon.
Steven Fletcher had headed the hosts in front, but full-back Mathieu Debuchy drew Newcastle level after the restart.
It appeared that the spoils were then going to be shared until Borini intervened in the closing stages. Below, Sports Mole has looked back over the contest to determine if the result was a fair one.
Match statistics:
Sunderland:
Shots 8
On target 4
Possession 48%
Corners 5
Fouls 13
Newcastle:
Shots 16
On target 4
Possession 52%
Corners 3
Fouls 14
Was the result fair?
Firstly, Sunderland won't care one jot whether it was a deserved victory or not and why should they?! In contrast, Newcastle are bound to be a little down in the dumps and you can understand why. They were by no means fantastic, but the statistics above show that they more than competed in this game. A draw would have been fair, but football is all about taking your chances.
Sunderland's performance
Today was all about getting the three points - no more, no less. They did that, although it still highlighted just how much work Gus Poyet has to do on Wearside. His side showed a great tempo in the opening exchanges, but their passing became wayward and for a large time they created very little. On the plus side, they defended extremely well and showed some great character to grab the late goal when it didn't look likely.
Newcastle's performance
Too many of Newcastle's attacking players were below-par today. We saw very little from the likes of Hatem Ben Arfa, Loic Remy or Papiss Cisse when he came on. Having said that, the dominated large parts of the second half and deserved the equaliser when it came about. After that it looked as though they were going to be the only team that was going to win, but they failed to press home that advantage.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Jack Colback: Sunderland's utility man was used in the centre of midfield today and he responded with a great performance. The 24-year-old was busy from the first whistle and won numerous challenges in key areas. What's more, he also played a major role in the move that resulted in the winning goal.
Biggest gaffe
Poyet stressed the importance of his players keeping their concentration today, so he is likely to have been disappointed with what he saw from Adam Johnson. The Sunderland winger failed to track Debuchy's run and as a result the full-back had plenty of time and space to haul Newcastle level. Moments later, an unhappy looking Johnson was substituted by match-winner Borini.
Referee performance
A very professional afternoon's work from Lee Probert, who must have known that he was going to be involved in a frantic contest. He issued just two yellow cards, one of which was given to Fletcher for over-celebrating.
What next?
Sunderland: The Black Cats will turn their attention to League Cup matters on Wednesday night when they play host to fellow Premier League side Southampton.
Newcastle: On the same evening and in the same competition, the Magpies will travel to Manchester City.
Liam Apicella
