The Black Cats Mimic Famous Newcastle Group Snapshot Following Pivotal Derby Triumph.
An altered coaching staff and a largely changed squad – but someone at Sunderland wasn't going to forget.
Back in 2024, after a dominant Newcastle performance at the Stadium of Light in an FA Cup tie, the rivals marked the occasion with a full squad photograph on the pitch.
On this occasion, the roles were flipped.
Nick Woltemade's unfortunate deflection proved sufficient to hand Sunderland a historic win over their rivals in the first Premier League Tyne-Wear derby since 2016 – prompting the hosts to recreate Newcastle's iconic snapshot at full-time.
“Consistently original, imaginative, versatile,” smiled Black Cats manager Regis le Bris when questioned about who came up with the photograph.
Defender Dan Ballard, who was unfortunate to score an own goal in that previous encounter, was the lone Sunderland player to start in each of the games.
He explained how he desperately wanted to rectify the loss, stating: “You cannot describe [the feeling]. It was heartbreaking for the players and for the fans. We felt we had failed them, so we're delighted with this win.”
“That experience hardened us. We came in with more quality in this team, real leaders, we dug deep, fought really hard and I thought we earned the win.”
‘Derbies you have to win, it does not matter how’
Occupying seventh spot Sunderland are having a superb 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 highest total at this stage of a Premier League campaign since 2000-01.
They are still unbeaten in the league at the Stadium of Light, which boasted an electric atmosphere for most of Sunday afternoon.
“In local rivalry matches, the result is everything, the performance secondary,” said captain Granit Xhaka. “This team merits greater recognition – 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 longest such run without defeat against the Magpies.
Newcastle's last league win over Sunderland was over a decade ago.
Manager Regis le Bris said he was “extremely pleased” with the performance.
“It was a derby and we were carrying the hopes of our fans,” he continued. “This win is fully merited, we were composed and the lads were superb.”
“It's fantastic for the area, the club, the fans. We knew before it was a special game, but we have to refocus immediately as we have another difficult test in Brighton in one week.”
