With the FA Cup working it’s magic once again and throwing us a surprise Wear-Tyne Derby, I thought I’d delve into the past and look a little bit into the history of the fixture. The teams have met on 156 previous occasions, with Sunderland gaining a massive 53 wins in that time compared to Newcastle’s paltry 53. The first meeting was all the way back in 1888, with the most recent being Newcastle’s famous 1-1 win in 2016. Let’s have a completely unbiased look at some of the more interesting ones.

Newcastle 0 - 2 Sunderland - 16/05/1990

The last time these two rivals clashed in a knockout competition was the 1990 Division Two Play-Offs. After a cagey 0-0 draw at Sunderland, the Black Cats’ ‘G-Force’ strike partnership of Eric Gates and Marco Gabbiadini struck to send Sunderland through to play Swindon Town in the final. The game is remembered for a pitch invasion by the Mag supporters after Sunderland’s second goal in an effort to get the match abandoned. The referee was having none of this however, and after a lengthy delay the final few minutes were played.

What makes this all the funnier is that Sunderland lost the final to Swindon, but were still promoted after Swindon were found guilty of some financial irregularities.

Newcastle 1 - 9 Sunderland - 05/12/1908

The biggest win ever in the fixture came 115 years ago, and it’s a game I and many other Sunderland fans remember well. Sunderland took the lead in the first half but were pegged back by the Geordies, and went in at half-time at 1-1. Whatever the gaffer said at half-time must have worked, as Sunderland came out and scored eight second half goals as the match finished 9-1.

Weirdly, this humbling from their neighbours to the south must have invigorated Newcastle, as they went on to win the league that season.

Newcastle 0 - 3 Sunderland - 14/04/2013 & 01/02/2014

When people ask me what my favourite 3-0 win over Newcastle in the Premier League at St. James’ Park in the early-to-mid 2010s was I say I don’t know, because it’s too hard to pick one. With that said, let’s look at both.

The 2013 edition came completely out of the blue, with Sunderland having recently sacked Martin O’Neill and being woefully out of form. Stephane Sessegnon, a favourite of the ‘streets won’t forget’ connoisseurs, opened the scoring for the Black Cats with a low drive from 20 yards, before NAME REDACTED double the visitors lead after cutting inside from the right and curling one past Rob Elliot. I remember Rob Elliot making his mouth go on Twitter the night before, saying how badly they were going to beat us, so this was especially nice. The rout was complete in the second half when David Vaughan struck the sweetest strike of his career, sealing the fate of poor Bud the Horse, who was brutally assaulted not long after. RIP Bud, gone but not forgotten x

Now for the 2014 vintage. Gus Poyet was in charge for this one, with a win over the Mags under his belt already the previous October. We fucking dominated this one. An early penalty from the gorgeous Fabio Borini set us on our way, before NAME REDACTED, the first of two boyhood Newcastle fans to score for Sunderland on the day, once again doubled the visitor’s lead. The rout was completed by Jack Colback bagging and shushing the Geordie hordes, before Jozy Altidore kept it in the corner for about 25 minutes to see the game out. Poyet would go on to win one more against the Mags, so that was nice. No horses were harmed after this one.

Sunderland 2 - 1 Newcastle - 25/10/2008

Kieran Richardson’s absolute thunderbastard of a free kick was the difference in this one, as Sunderland claimed a first derby victory in eight years.

The first goal came with two of France’s most famous sons combining, as a mishit Steed Malbranque cross-cum-shot found it’s way to the feet of Djibril Cisse, who made no mistake. Shola Ameobi, a man who played like Lionel Messi against Sunderland and Lionel Blair against everyone else, equalised for the Magpies, before mad bastard El Hadji Diouf was fouled on the edge of the box. What came next was Richardson unleashing the power of fucking Mjolnir and smashing it into the back of the net before Shay Given had even had time to register what was going on. It’s a good job he didn’t get anything on it, else it would have taken his hand with it and ended up going in anyway.

Newcastle 1 - 2 Sunderland - 25/08/1999

Ruud Gullit was an excellent footballer, but ask any Newcastle fan and they’ll tell you he’s not as good a manager.

In monsoon conditions, the Dutchman decided to leave out star strikers Alan Shearer and Duncan Ferguson in favour of youth player Paul Robinson, a boyhood Sunderland fan. The decision looked to have been justified when the lad got an assist for Kieron Dyer as the Geordies took the lead, but Kevin Phillips and Niall Quinn showed Ruud that it probably makes sense to play your best strikers, as they both bagged to get Sunderland the win. Gullit resigned three days later.