Waiting for Tyne-Wear. Newcastle United vs Sunderland AFC.

Words: Richy Southern

Images: Richy Southern

Shot on film.

There was a sense, in the build up to this one, that there was a score to settle.

The first derby in eight years had come and gone just three months prior. A fixture absent for so long due to Sunderland’s slide down the divisions and their long road back to the Premier League.

For Newcastle, that return had been met with a performance that never really got going. Limp, flat, and ultimately forgettable.

This time felt different. Or at least, it needed to.

Much like the first meeting, the derby arrived off the back of a Champions League fixture. Last time, it was a trip to Leverkusen. A solid result on paper, but one that fed into a congested schedule before the long awaited Sunday clash.

©Richy Southern/ Terrace Edition. Newcastle United vs Sunderland AFC. On film.

This time, it was Barcelona.

And it was brutal.

A 7–2 defeat that felt as heavy as the scoreline suggests, compounded by the loss of Sandro Tonali. Not just a physical blow, but a psychological one in derby week.

There’s an argument to be made that Newcastle have been unfortunate this season. Two away Champions League fixtures, both landing just days before each derby. Eddie Howe has spoken often about the demands of a three game week schedule, and the strain it places on preparation. His attention to detail on the training ground is one of his greatest strengths, and inevitably, that suffers under this kind of load.

But there’s another side to it.

This is what the club has been building towards. Ownership that speaks openly about ambitions of reaching the very top. Competing with Europe’s elite isn’t an inconvenience, it’s the goal. And with that comes the expectation of handling moments like this.

The real challenge, particularly within the constraints of PSR and squad cost regulations, is building a squad deep enough to cope with it.

Anyway, I digress.

The derby itself.

By now, most will have seen the footage and the images. The tension wasn’t confined to the pitch. It spilled out onto the streets, around the ground, into the hours before kick off. There was a rawness to it. I found myself watching people my parents’ age, from both sides, trading abuse with a level of venom that felt almost surreal.

Inside the stadium, the tone shifted.

Wor Flags, the fan funded group that have transformed the visual identity of Newcastle home games in recent years, delivered again. A stunning tifo in the East Stand, backed by a coordinated display across the ground.

For a moment, everything aligned. The noise, the colour, the anticipation. It felt like what a derby should feel like.

I won’t dwell too much on the game itself. By the time these words are read and the film comes back developed, every angle will have been dissected, every opinion aired.

What stayed with me more was what came after.

There was a moment where I considered not even developing the film. Just leaving it. Letting it sit as a day better forgotten.

But football doesn’t work like that. It isn’t just about documenting the highs. The losses, however painful, are part of the story too.

And Sunderland, it has to be said, deserved their win.

In the days that followed, it was back to normality. Work, routine, conversations. I share an office with Sunderland fans. Good lads, people I genuinely get on with.

Of course there was banter, there always is. But it was measured, good natured. We’d even set up a small “derby day” payoff beforehand. A cold can of Heineken in the fridge, waiting for the winner.

It didn’t stay there long.

That contrast stuck with me.

On one hand, the hostility. The raw edge of it all. On the other, the familiarity. The shared understanding between people who, despite supporting different clubs, aren’t all that different at all

Two cities, separated by thirteen miles.

More alike than either would probably care to admit.

And what binds them, more than anything else, is the same thing that fuels the rivalry in the first place. Passion. For their club, their identity, their place.

That doesn’t disappear with a result.

If anything, it only sharpens it.

And in the end, that’s what keeps it all alive.

We go again next season.