The key takeaways to Sunderland's derby defeat against Newcastle

A Dan Ballard own goal 10 minutes before half-time was added to less than a minute into the second half when Alexander Isak converted into an empty net before the Sweden international added a third from the spot to bookend the second half.

The Premier League side were in complete control for the majority of their return to Wearside as the gulf in quality showed on the field. Eddie Howe’s men were almost camped inside the Sunderland half in the opening 45 minutes with Sean Longstaff spurning two good opportunities before the pressure told when Ballard turned into his own net from a teasing Joelinton cross on the left.

And the game was effectively over as a contest when Sunderland shot themselves in the foot at the start of the second half as Pierre Ekwah was punished for trying to dribble out of his own area before being robbed by Miguel Almiron who teed up Isak.

Sunderland were able to fashion a couple of half chances from distance in the second half as Newcastle eased off their intensity before Ballard brought down Anthony Gordon in the closing stages for Isak to convert from the spot.

We Are Sunderland look at some of the key takeaways from Sunderland’s derby defeat:

Newcastle set the tone early and Sunderland couldn’t react

Newcastle may have arrived out of sorts over the course of the last month, but Howe set his stall out with his team from the off with the idea being to simply suffocate Sunderland inside their own half. As soon as the black and white shirts lined up from an early break in play, Howe’s team almost resembled a 4-2-4 with Joelinton tucking in alongside Isak, with Gordon and Almiron on the wings. Almiron could almost operate as another inside forward, however, with Kieran Tripper so far advanced from his right-back position.

Sunderland simply couldn’t deal with it. There were periods where the trio of Gordon, Isak and Almiron were positioned directly on the edge of the Sunderland 18-yard line when Anthony Patterson had a goalkick, with Sunderland unable to get out. Despite the centre-backs spreading for Michael Beale’s side, it was a tactic which forced Patterson to go long which then worked for Howe and his team with Sunderland unable to compete in the air up against Fabian Schar and Sven Botman.

Newcastle were relentless in their approach in possession as well, as they quickly looked to get turned in behind Sunderland’s full-backs with the pace of Gordon and Almiron. It meant Sunderland were set up so deep which allowed the likes of Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton to totally dominate the centre of midfield. The Magpies had almost double the amount of touches in the first half, with Sunderland’s key man Jack Clarke limited to barely double figures after 45 minutes.

Beale’s side did not register a shot on target in the first half and Newcastle almost ended it in a 3-1-2-4 system with Dan Burn alongside Schar and Botman on the halfway line without coming under any pressure. Guimaraes sat a little in front of them with Joelinton and Longstaff ahead and a front four then of Gordon, Isak, Almiron and Trippier. It allowed Newcastle to dictate the game from the off and Sunderland could not react to it as the pressure eventually told.

Sunderland contribute to their own downfall

Sunderland, however, did not help themselves in the first half. They gave up 73 per cent of the possession, a lot of which came from their own mistakes. Jobe Bellingham was caught twice in the opening 15 minutes in trying to play out from inside his own half – the kind of play we see from him on a weekly basis. That may work in the Championship, but here Newcastle swarmed the 18-year-old who had a difficult game.

But it wasn’t just Jobe who was a little naïve in possession. Even Clarke was fortunate not to see a turnover on the halfway line result in a penalty to Newcastle after a coming together between Isak and Ballard after he had already beaten Trippier once.

Sunderland tried to rally with a series of typical derby-day challenges from Ekwah, Alex Pritchard and Trai Hume, but they were in vain after the initial hostility of the game subsided and the pattern emerged. On the odd occasion Sunderland were able to cross into the Newcastle half they did look to steer the ball down Newcastle’s left channel and Burn – something they enjoyed small success with in the early stages with Nazariy Rusyn and Hume winning free kicks off the defender in potentially dangerous positions, albeit those set pieces were wasted.

Sunderland were probably fortunate to get in only a goal behind at half-time and they needed it with Newcastle camped out in the Sunderland half. But any words of wisdom Beale might have had for his team were thrown out of the window within a minute of the restart after his side gift-wrapped a second goal to the visitors.

Having been forced to play direct in the first half, Sunderland tried to adapt in the second with Patterson playing out from the back from his first goal kick. Newcastle, again, were high in their press and Almiron was able to rob Ekwah who inexplicably tried to turn inside his own penalty area. Almiron stole in and was unselfish in laying on an empty net for Isak to convert.

Ekwah tried to make amends when having Sunderland’s first attempt at goal which forced Martin Dubravka into a smart save before Pritchard then clipped the top of the bar with their best passage of play as Dan Neil was finally able to find a way through Newcastle’s midfield line to find his team-mate in a similar position as to where he converted just five days earlier against Preston North End.

Pritchard and Neil continued to be Sunderland’s most adept players as Newcastle eased off a little in their intensity – Pritchard going close again when forcing Dubravka into another good save low to his right.

But Sunderland continued to put themselves into trouble with Beale seemingly clear in his approach of wanting his team to play out from the back, despite being caught out in dangerous areas time and time again.

It was always going to be a difficult game for Sunderland, but maybe their inexperience told a little in those moments with Newcastle relentless in being able to capitalise. Sunderland needed to find another way to adapt to Newcastle’s approach but they were unable to do so.

Did Sunderland miss Patrick Roberts? Newcastle’s intensity and physicality suggests not

Given the run of games Sunderland have had since Beale was appointed a week before Christmas there might have been some scepticism as to how he would line-up here against Newcastle. Would some players need a rest? Was experience key? Are certain players fit? And yet the win over Preston almost dictated Beale’s starting XI for him – particularly with Pritchard and Rusyn getting on the scoresheet.

The only debate was whether or not Patrick Roberts would be fit after his injury picked up in the draw at Rotherham United. Unfortunately, that answer would be no with the winger not involved at all.

And while you could argue Roberts was a miss, particularly given he would have been able to test Burn for pace, the overall game would suggest he may not have had much of a difference simply because Sunderland were unable to get the ball to their attacking players enough.

Given how high Newcastle were, Clarke and Pritchard were forced into more of a defensive role than being able to contribute to the attack and that likely would have been the case with Roberts had he played.

It goes back to the sheer intensity and physicality that Newcastle held over Sunderland – as you would expect when it comes to a Champions League outfit against a Championship team. It wasn’t difficult to predict Newcastle were going to provide Sunderland with their toughest test since they were last in the Premier League – barring one League Cup quarter-final away to Arsenal with the club still in League One.

But that sheer pace and physicality of Howe’s side told from the off with Guimaraes and Joelinton able to control the midfield while the pace of both Gordon and Almiron on the wings was difficult to counteract. When Sunderland did get the ball forward, the likes of Rusyn and Clarke were eased out by the Newcastle defence.

Did Sunderland stand up to the test of the derby?

Almost eight years in the making, but certainly five weeks in the making. Ever since ball number 27 emerged from that oh so famous red velvet bag on December 3 to follow Sunderland’s name, this has been at the forefront of pretty much every mind in the North East. But did it live up to the hype and did Sunderland come away with anything from this? In a word, no. But that, in the end, was down to the gap between the two teams.

Beale was keen to drum up the magnitude of the fixture in midweek whilst trying to highlight the opportunity for his players as opposed to the repercussions. Sunderland are the youngest team in the Championship, they are being moulded into a potential Premier League team, but this was a real example of where their aspirations may be and the size of the journey they may have to get there – particularly without the kind of financial banking possessed by their rivals here.

Beale is unlikely to be too critical of his players, despite the scoreline and the errors that contributed to it. In the bigger picture this will be used as a learning curve. But in the here and now it will hurt.

At just 18-years-old, Jobe has his entire career in front of him. He is proving he is capable in the Championship this season and yet this, in particular, was a bit of a baptism of fire just by the nature of the time in which he was prevented from having on the ball. There are other examples.

Defensively, Beale may rethink how he approached the second half in persisting with playing out from the back. In attack, the likes of Clarke – as good as he has been in the Championship this season – was comfortably dealt with.

Sunderland’s players were applauded off at the full-time whistle, with many still in the stadium, which doesn’t often happen when you know you are about to lose to your rivals. That, in itself, is evidence that supporters still believe in this group of young players. And yet the lasting image from this game, which will live long in the memory, is not one of positivity, with a wall of black and white celebrating at the other end of the field – the ramifications of pretty disastrous build-up to the tie from a Sunderland perspective.

Sunderland are still on a journey, but there remains some way to go.