Earlier this week, I alluded to the fact that Tyne-Wear derbies would be much easier to live through if draws were made compulsory and the threat of defeat removed. However, when it goes right and victory is achieved it's the most amazing high. Below is a team consisting of players who have become cult heroes on Wearside for their contributions to jubilant derby days.
- Blog: Newcastle derby-day legends XI
1. Kevin Phillips
A fabulous goalscoring hero of Peter Reid's reign as Sunderland manager. His shot on the turn in pouring rain at St James' Park in 1999 won the game and hastened Ruud Gullit's exit as United manager - although the latter was not necessarily a good thing. Click here
2. Niall Quinn
In the same match, Quinn's glancing header transformed a match Sunderland looked in danger of losing after going behind in the first half. He did it again a year later, this time with a headed winner that brought a fitting climax to a breathtaking end-to-end move. Click here
3. Thomas Sorensen
From the second of those successive 2-1 victories at St James' Park, Sunderland ultimately had the Danish keeper to thank after he made a fine save from Alan Shearer's late penalty.
4. Stan Cummins
Little Stan was a player of exceptional skill. But his 1980 winner against Newcastle was no more than an easy close-range conversion after sloppy United defending. Its importance has more to do with subsequent failure: Sunderland were not to beat the Magpies at home again for 28 years. Click here
5. Kieran Richardson
The man responsible for ending the long wait. One of the most versatile players in Sunderland's recent history, he made his mark in 2008 with a scorching freekick from the edge of the penalty area to secure a 2-1 home win. That Sunderland just stayed up that season, while Newcastle went down, added a little mischievous icing to the cake. Click here
6. Len Shackleton
There would have been no need for Shack to score against Newcastle in his nine years at Roker Park for him to be revered as a Sunderland legend. That long stay followed two years at St James' Park and he made no attempt to disguise his preference. "I'm not biased when it comes to Newcastle," he once said. "I don't care who beats them!"
7. Gary Rowell
The hat-trick Rowell scored in a 4-1 win at St James' Park in 1979 is rooted in Wearside folklore. "When we hit the fourth I had a chat with Kevin Arnott about whether to try for a fifth or just to take the p***," he said. "We decided to take the p***."
8. Patrice Carteron
The French defender played only eight times during a brief stay at the Stadium of Light, and could have had little idea of just how important it was to score in a Wear-Tyne derby until he fired the ball home in 2001. Don Hutchison's superb defence-splitting pass set him up, with Hutch actually pointing in advance to where he wanted Carteron to run. The pub in Lyon where I watched the game erupted (Carteron had played for both Olympique Lyonnais and their own local rivals Saint-Etienne). Sadly, Newcastle were able to equalise but Carteron, now manager of the Mali national side after steering Dijon to promotion (and back down again) returned to France with a great souvenir of North-eastern passion.
9. Eric Gates and 10. Marco Gabbiadini
Another inseparable double act, of the kind Phillips and Quinn became, they formed a powerful strike force and, in 1990, combined to the best possible effect with the goals that won a promotion playoff game at St James' Park. Sitting on a draw from the first leg, United – who had finished 12 points ahead in the league – saw winning as a formality. Gates scored first, Gabbiadini sealed victory. The audacity of the Sunderland 2-0 lead inspired some United oafs to invade the pitch in the forlorn hope of getting the match abandoned and replayed. Sunderland lost the playoff final but went up anyway when the winners Swindon, were disqualified for financial irregularities. Click here
11. George Holley
Hardly a household name. But as every Sunderland anorak knows, he scored three of the nine goals that brought an astonishing 9-1 victory at St James' Park in 1908. Even more unbelievably, it was a championship-winning season for the Magpies. Other scorers: Billy Hogg (three), Arthur Bridgett (two) and Jackie Mordue. Tragically, no YouTube clip of the occasion exists.