Woltemade own goal settles Wear-Tyne derby
‘Our performance was not what it needed to be’
Eddie Howe vowed that he would not allow Sunday’s defeat in the Wear-Tyne derby at Sunderland to define Newcastle’s season.
“It’s a horrible feeling, it’s very painful,” said Howe, whose inconsistent side were sunk by Nick Woltemade’s spectacular second-half headed own goal. By way of exacerbating his distress Sunderland’s players rubbed salt in visiting wounds by posing for a celebratory group picture on the pitch at the end. That was a riposte to the events of January 2024 when Howe’s assistant, Jason Tindall, ordered Newcastle’s players to pose for a similar photograph following a 3-0 FA Cup win here.
“It was not our finest game,” said Howe, who said the England defender Dan Burn had been taken to hospital for X-rays on damaged ribs. “It’s so disappointing, we know our performance was not what it needed to be. But, no, I don’t think it will define our season. Nothing is lost today, it was a game of very few chances settled by a freak goal and we couldn’t create the openings we wanted.
