- Sunderland ‘not very good’ says Gordon
- Magpies suffer double derby defeat
- Newcastle ‘shouldn’t have lost.’
Newcastle United forward Anthony Gordon has given his opinion on Sunderland following yesterday’s derby defeat.
The Liverpool-born winger got Newcastle off to a dream start, slotting home from close range in the 10th minute. The Magpies were the better team in the first half, but failed to capitalise on their chances.
What should have been an opportunity to record a first league derby victory in 15 years ended in disaster for Eddie Howe’s side. After the break, Sunderland equalised through Chemsdine Talbi, before Brian Brobbey broke Geordie hearts with a 90th-minute winner.
‘Not very good.’
After the game, a clearly disappointed Gordon offered his view on the opposition. He told club media:
“The frustrating thing is, in my opinion, they’re not a very good team compared to us. We shouldn’t lose to them. Away is obviously more difficult because they have the fans, the atmosphere and a bit more pressure, but at home we should not lose that game.”
He added:
“Not with the first half that we had, but again we haven’t been good enough starting second halves, and it’s an ongoing problem.”
Gordon’s comments are sure to rankle with Sunderland fans, who would surely retort that this is the second time they’ve beaten the Magpies this season, and they currently sit above Newcastle in the league table.
Pattern recognition
The former Everton man was also keen to point out that his side has struggled to maintain the advantage in games where they’ve gone ahead this season
“It was not good enough, really, no excuses. We were good for 45 minutes, which has been the case too often this season – we actually knew going into the game and had been trying to work on it.”
Gordon added:
“A not good enough start to the second half, and they were the better team in the second half.”
The derby defeat comes less than a week after another disappointing Newcastle collapse. The Magpies suffered a 7-2 hammering away to Barcelona, despite going into half-time just a goal behind.
This was in stark contrast to rivals Sunderland. With the game balanced at 1-1 yesterday, a Sky Sports graphic flashed across the screen informing viewers that Sunderland had notched up 16 points from losing positions in the Premier League this season.
By full-time, that was 19, as Brian Brobbey scored a dramatic 90th-minute winner for the Black Cats. Newcastle, meanwhile, are now the team with the most points dropped from winning positions this season.
