NEWCASTLE, England, March 22 (Reuters) - Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey scored a 90th-minute winner against Newcastle United to secure a 2-1 win in a hotly-contested Tyne-Wear derby on Sunday that lifts them above their bitter rivals in the Premier League standings.
The visitors bounced back from a flat first-half performance to take the game to their rivals in the second, and they were rewarded when Brobbey scored late to snatch the three points.
Sunderland got off to a dreadful start as defender Luke O’Nien fluffed his attempt at a long ball from inside his own penalty area, and Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade snapped up the loose ball and passed it to Anthony Gordon, who tucked it into the far corner in the 10th minute.
Sunderland raised their game in the second half and they levelled through Chemsdine Talbi 12 minutes after the break, the winger blasting home from close range after Newcastle failed to clear a corner,prompting a spread of panic through the black-and-white ranks.
As the tension mounted, Newcastle had a goal chalked off in the 75th minute whenMalick Thiaw had the ball in the net for Newcastle, but Jacob Murphy was found to have impeded Sunderland goalkeeper Melker Ellborg while standing in an offside position.
Goalscorer Gordon then missed a great chance to put his side back in front in the 80th minute, blazing his shot high over the bar, and he did the same when presented with a similar opportunity five minutes later.
That set the scene for Brobbey's heroics as he made the most of his late opportunity, hooking home the winner at the second attempt to move his side up to 11th in the standings on 43 points, one point and one place ahead of Newcastle.
After what Eddie Howe described as a "painful, tough afternoon" made him the first Newcastle coach to lose his first two league games in charge against Sunderland, the 48-year-old was not happy with his side.
"I thought when we scored we'd go on and dominate the game and then we never really capitalised on that momentum that we had. The first half fizzed out, from our perspective," he said.
"In the second half, we were second best throughout that half. I didn't like our performance. Technically, we were poor, too many giveaways, too many times we gave momentum back to Sunderland ... I think a defeat's harsh on us, but we certainly didn't play anywhere near well enough."
(Reporting by Philip O'ConnorEditing by Christian Radnedge)
