Sunderland received a 5-1 drubbing at Newcastle in a one-way Tyne-Wear derby, with Ahmed Elmohamady playing less than one half. Kevin Nolan was the hero of the day for the Magpies, hitting a hat-trick to down a 10-man Sunderland. The Black Cats' first defeat in seven games leaves them 11th on 12 points, while Newcastle moved up to seventh on 14. Nolan scored two close-range goals on 26 and 34 minutes to ensure that Steve Bruce's team will have an uphill battle at St. Andrews. Five minutes from half-time, Bruce took off Elmohamady and introduced striker Asamoah Gyan in what appeared to be a tactical decision by the Sunderland boss. But Bruce's move hardly paid off as the Magpies were 3-0 ahead at the stroke of half-time, thanks to a Shola Ameobi penalty, following Nedum Onouha's tackle on Jonas. Sunderland's miserable evening continued as center-half Titus Bramble was given a straight red card eight minutes after the break for a professional foul on Jonas. The Black Cats held on for more than 20 minutes but were hit by another Ameobi strike, before the on-fire Nolan headed in his third of the game to make it five. Darren Bent grabbed a late consolation for Sunderland to take his tally to six Premier League goals.
