Eddie Howe vowed that he would not allow Sunday’s defeat in the Wear-Tyne derby at Sunderland to define Newcastle’s season.
“It’s a horrible feeling, it’s very painful,” said Howe, whose inconsistent side were sunk by Nick Woltemade’s spectacular second-half headed own goal. By way of exacerbating his distress Sunderland’s players rubbed salt in visiting wounds by posing for a celebratory group picture on the pitch at the end. That was a riposte to the events of January 2024 when Howe’s assistant, Jason Tindall, ordered Newcastle’s players to pose for a similar photograph following a 3-0 FA Cup win here.
“It was not our finest game,” said Howe, who said the England defender Dan Burn had been taken to hospital for X-rays on damaged ribs. “It’s so disappointing, we know our performance was not what it needed to be. But, no, I don’t think it will define our season. Nothing is lost today, it was a game of very few chances settled by a freak goal and we couldn’t create the openings we wanted.
“The effort was there but the quality wasn’t. We were disappointed with our creative output. We haven’t delivered. It’s difficult to take.”
The 1-0 scoreline left promoted Sunderland seventh, four points and five places ahead of their north-east neighbours. While the home captain, Granit Xhaka, said: “This team deserves much, much more respect,” Régis Le Bris wore the contented look of a coach whose gameplan succeed.
“I’m proud and happy,” said Sunderland’s manager. “The win is well deserved. The lads were incredible. We were mature and composed under the pressure. Sometimes we were even a bit too patient. We were good with the ball but it was a question of being more clinical in the final third. We should have scored a second goal but we knew what to do and it was comfortable [to see the game out at 1-0] to be fair. We had good control.
“We were playing with the expectation of winning. Now we want to continue this dominance. It’s fragile but very good for this region and for our fans.”
And the post-match celebration? “It was creative,” said Le Bris, smiling.
