Checking the table…
Newcastle on the Tyne, Sunderland on the Wear. Twelve miles apart and four hundred years of not getting on.
| Pos | Pts | GD | Form | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle | 13th | 11 | -3 | WLLWL |
| Sunderland | 20th | 5 | -10 | LLLDL |
Newcastle 7 places above them. Natural order restored.
It goes back further than football. In the 1600s Newcastle had the coal trade sewn up, and Wearside merchants weren't happy about it. When the Civil War kicked off, Newcastle backed the King and Sunderland went with Parliament. South Shields Local History Group
Then came the shipyards, both rivers building ships for half the world. That's probably where “Mackem” comes from: “mak'em and tak'em”. Probably. Even Sunderland's own paper says nobody's completely sure. The phrase was in the Echo by 1953; the word itself caught on in the 70s and 80s. Sunderland Echo
The football started in 1888. Since then it's been close to level overall, which is the most annoying thing about it. Wikipedia
Newcastle 1-9 Sunderland
At St James'. Still the biggest win in the fixture's history. We'll get this one out of the way first. source
Newcastle 0-2 Sunderland
Play-off semi, second leg. Billed as the biggest derby ever. Moving on. source
Sunderland 1-4 Newcastle
At the Stadium of Light. Albert Luque scored. Remember that, because nobody else does. source
Newcastle 5-1 Sunderland
Halloween. Kevin Nolan hat-trick. The finest afternoon in the history of the Gallowgate. source
Six on the bounce for them
Six derby wins in a row for Sunderland. Dark days. Next. source
Sunderland 0-3 Newcastle
FA Cup, at theirs. A walk in the park, as they say round here. source
Sunderland 1-0 · Newcastle 1-2
They did the league double. An own goal at theirs, a 90th-minute winner at ours. We're still not over it. source