The Black Cats Mimic Notorious Magpies Squad Picture Following ‘Special’ Local Rivalry Win.

An altered coaching staff and an almost completely different team – but the club at Sunderland had a long memory.

Nearly two years ago, after a dominant Newcastle performance at the Stadium of Light in an FA Cup tie, the visitors commemorated the moment with a group photo on the pitch.

This time, the roles were flipped.

Nick Woltemade's unfortunate deflection proved decisive to hand Sunderland a long-awaited win over their rivals in the return of the Premier League Tyne-Wear derby since 2016 – prompting the hosts to recreate Newcastle's post-match snapshot at full-time.

“Consistently original, imaginative, versatile,” said with a grin Black Cats manager Regis le Bris when pressed about who proposed the gesture.

Defender Dan Ballard, who scored an own goal in that cup defeat, was the only Sunderland player to be in the starting XI in each of the games.

He disclosed how he was determined to make amends for the loss, stating: “You cannot describe [the feeling]. It was so painful for the players and for the fans. We felt we had disappointed them, so we're overjoyed with this win.”

“It served as motivation. We came in with more quality in this team, strong personalities, we stuck in there, fought really hard and I thought we earned the win.”

‘Local clashes are must-wins, by any means necessary’

Sitting in seventh Sunderland are experiencing a superb return to the top flight after promotion via the play-offs last season.

The Black Cats have 26 points on the board in 16 games, their best return 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 feverish atmosphere for most of Sunday afternoon.

“In local rivalry matches, the result is everything, the performance secondary,” said captain Granit Xhaka. “This team deserves much more – where we are in the league is incredible and we're working really hard.”

Sunderland are also undefeated 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 all the way back in 2011.

Manager Regis le Bris said he was “proud and happy” with the result.

“It was a derby and we were carrying the hopes of our fans,” he added. “This win is fully merited, we were mature and the lads were outstanding.”

“It's fantastic for the area, the club, the fans. We knew before it was a special game, but we have to reset quickly as we have another tough challenge in Brighton in one week.”