Sunderland have triumphed in the Wear-Tyne derby as Jermain Defoe's first-half volley gave the Black Cats a 1-0 victory over bitter rivals Newcastle United at the Stadium of Light.
The hosts were first to threaten as they won a corner in the first minute of the game, but Sebastian Larsson's dangerous delivery from the left was efficiently punched clear by Tim Krul.
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Newcastle called for a penalty when Ayoze Perez was brought down in the area under Santiago Vergini's tackle, but referee Mike Dean judged that the ball was won fairly.
Dick Advocaat's charges then came within a whisker of opening the scoring in the seventh minute as another Larsson corner was met by a Billy Jones volley towards goal, but the ball was scrambled over the bar despite a lurking Defoe.
The Magpies continued to struggle against their rivals and found themselves in another compromising position when Sammy Ameobi gave away a free kick on the edge of the box, but Larsson's decision to go for goal culminated in a weak effort that Krul caught with ease.
Next to try his luck for the Black Cats was Connor Wickham, who rose at the far post to meet Larsson's left-wing corner, the resulting header smashing against the outside of the post and back out.
Newcastle had to wait until just before the half-hour mark for their first chance, but Yoan Gouffran's volley following a poorly cleared free kick was skewed well wide.
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Sunderland's dominance was rewarded on the stroke of half time when a hopeful ball up the field was flicked on by Steven Fletcher towards Defoe, who thumped the dropping ball into the roof of the Newcastle net from 20 yards out to send the home crowd wild.
There was more panache about the visitors after the restart as Jack Colback bore forward and dragged a low shot just wide of goal.
They were almost punished in the 50th minute, however, when Daryl Janmaat's misplaced pass led to the ball being lofted towards an unmarked Fletcher, but the resulting volley wasn't hit properly and failed to cause trouble.
As is relatively standard during a heated derby, things became feisty as both sides launched into a number of scything tackles and strong challenges, which culminated into several yellow cards and a scuffle just after the hour.
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Sunderland continued to dominate and came within a whisker of securing a spectacular second when Larsson's free kick from 35 yards out left Krul stranded but whistled inches wide.
The game then exploded as the action became end-to-end in the latter stages, with Remy Cabella and Perez coming close for the Magpies, while Larsson and Vergini's efforts were dashed by last-ditch Newcastle blocks.
There was more drama in injury time as Lee Cattermole appeared to clatter into Perez in the Black Cats box, but nothing was given by the referee.
It would prove the last significant action of the game as Sunderland were left to celebrate their fifth win in a row over their bitter rivals and an ascent to 15th in the Premier League table, three points above the drop zone and six points behind 13th-placed Newcastle.
Giuseppe Labellarte
