It was a painful day for Newcastle.
Eddie Howe made no excuses for Newcastle United‘s second-half performance after they slumped to defeat to rivals Sunderland for the second time this season.
The Magpies were on course to end their long wait for a Premier League win over their Tyne-Wear Derby rivals after Anthony Gordon opened the scoring in the 10th minute at St James’ Park.
Newcastle continued to dominate thereafter in the first half, with Sven Botman hitting the post, but paid the price for failing to double their lead as they produced a dismal showing after the interval.
Chemsdine Talbi deservedly levelled for Sunderland in the 57th minute and, after Malick Thiaw had a goal disallowed for offside against Jacob Murphy, Brian Brobbey snatched a 2-1 triumph with a 90th-minute winner as the Black Cats completed the league double over Newcastle.
For Newcastle, it marked a miserable end to a chastening week, with the defeat following an emphatic Champions League exit at the hands of Barcelona.
And, beyond the concession of bragging rights to their neighbours, the loss represented a huge missed opportunity for Newcastle, who would have moved within three points of sixth-placed Chelsea with a win.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Howe conceded his side’s display was a long way below expectations.
“Painful, tough afternoon for us,” Howe said. “Positive start, I thought when we scored we would go on and dominate but we never capitalised on that momentum.
“The first half fizzed out and second half we were second best. I didn’t like our performance. Technically we were poor. The defeat is harsh on us but we didn’t play well enough.”
Newcastle have played 51 games this season, more than any team in Europe’s top-five European leagues, but Howe did not use fatigue as justification for their collapse.
‘I’m reluctant to use that as an excuse,” Howe said when asked if the fixture pile-up played a role.
“Logic would tell you yes, but we have to do better. We have to really look at ourselves and make sure we learn from all the mistakes we have made and we made a few today. This has happened before, it isn’t a one off.
“We wanted a second goal, we couldn’t find it. Sunderland grew into the game. We needed to defend with our lives and defend better than we did.”
Newcastle are four points behind seventh-placed Brentford and have plenty of work to do in their remaining seven games if they are to qualify for European competition.
The Magpies, though, will hope to benefit from a three-week break before they visit Crystal Palace and from the prospective returns of Bruno Guimaraes and Lewis Miley. Newcastle were also without midfielder Sandro Tonali, who missed out due to a groin issue.
“We have some massive games to come,” added Howe.
“Week to week we are able to train and get that freshness back. We have had to learn a lot. It’s going to need a lot of character to respond. We never give up, we always go for what we can.”
