Demba Ba's late own goal rescued Sunderland a 1-1 draw with 10-man Newcastle United in another feisty Wear-Tyne derby.
It took less than three minutes for an eagerly-anticipated encounter to catch fire, although it did so in painful style for the home fans. Hatem Ben Arfa found space down the right and played the ball in to Ba, whose shot from a tight angle was blocked by goalkeeper Simon Mignolet at his near post. However, the Belgium international could only turn the ball into the path of the fast-arriving Cabaye at the edge of the box and his low drive was true and powerful and flew into the back of the net to send the travelling fans behind the goal into delirious celebrations.Possession
Sunderland's response was immediate and Mike Williamson had to intervene to prevent Fletcher from reaching Sebastian Larsson's teasing right-wing cross four minutes later. But for all the Black Cats were enjoying the greater share of possession, they lacked penetration and Krul had to field Larsson's 17th minute free-kick, but little else. O'Shea made an important block to keep out Ba's volley seconds later as Newcastle continued to show the greater threat. However, the game changed with 25 minutes gone when Newcastle's midfield enforcer Tiote was sent back to the dressing room after careering into Fletcher. Referee Martin Atkinson had already blown for a foul on the Ivorian by Jack Colback, but his momentum carried him into the Scotland international and as the home fans bayed for blood, the official produced a red card, much to Tiote's astonishment.Lightning break
The home side were once again dominating possession, but a succession of poor final balls let the visitors off the hook with the locals growing increasingly restless. Newcastle were defending deep and trying to hit their hosts on the break, although as the clock ticked towards the hour-mark, the traffic was largely one-way.Sunderland | Team Statistics | Newcastle United |
1 | Goals | 1 |
0 | 1st Half Goals | 1 |
1 | Shots on Target | 5 |
10 | Shots off Target | 1 |
10 | Blocked Shots | 5 |
8 | Corners | 4 |
14 | Fouls | 16 |
3 | Offsides | 0 |
0 | Yellow Cards | 4 |
0 | Red Cards | 1 |
84 | Passing Success | 70.5 |
26 | Tackles | 24 |
73.1 | Tackles Success | 66.7 |
65.6 | Possession | 34.4 |
61.8 | Territorial Advantage | 38.2 |
451 | Total Passes | 241 |
41 | Total Crosses | 12 |
159 | Lost Balls | 158 |
57 | Recoveries | 52 |
59.2 | 1st Half Poss. | 40.8 |
71.2 | 2nd Half Poss. | 28.8 |