Newcastle United grabbed a thrilling stoppage time equalizer against Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear Derby, but they will be very disappointed that they weren't able to take all three points against their rivals at St. James' Park. The Black Cats picked up a red card and gave away a penalty in the second half, but Newcastle didn't do enough to take advantage of those gifts as the match finished 1-1.
Newcastle United Vs. Sunderland, 2012 Premier League: Thrilling Tyne-Wear Derby Ends 1-1
Sunderland went ahead early when Michael Turner drew a 24th minute penalty. Mike Williamson was caught pulling his shirt in the box, leading Mike Dean to give the spot kick. Nicklas Bendtner stepped up and finished, giving his team a 1-0 lead which allowed Sunderland to sit deep and play on the counter in true Martin O'Neill style.
It appeared that Sunderland were going to be able to hold onto that one goal lead without too much of a problem until the 58th minute, when Stephane Sessegnon threw an elbow into Cheik Tiote, for which he was shown a straight red card. Newcastle would step up the pressure at that point, but it would take a good 20 minutes before they looked like scoring.
In the 80th minute, Shola Ameobi was taken down in the box by a ludicrous lunging tackle courtesy of Fraizer Campbell, who missed the ball by a mile. Demba Ba stepped up to take the penalty but hit it too close to the center, allowing Simon Mignolet to make a nice save.
The rest of the game was played almost entirely in the Sunderland box, but it would take until the 91st minute for the Magpies to equalize. Ameobi netted that equalizer, poking in a finish after a flicked header by Williamson towards the back post.
After the final whistle, Lee Cattermole was shown a straight red for dissent, because he is Lee Cattermole.
For more on the two teams, head over to Sunderland blog Roker Report and Newcastle blog Coming Home Newcastle.
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