Alan Shearer's three-word Newcastle verdict says it all after brutal Sunderland defeat - The Mirror

The first Wear-Tyne derby in the Premier League in nearly a decade went the way of Sunderland after rivals Newcastle drew a blank at the Stadium of Light on Sunday

Newcastle United suffered a painful derby defeat at Sunderland on Sunday and club legend Alan Shearer was far from impressed. Nick Woltemade's own goal settled the tie, with the Black Cats keeping their rivals at bay at the Stadium of Light.

The visitors enjoyed more possession than Sunderland but only registered six shots - two of them on target - despite spending nearly half the game chasing an equaliser. Shearer's assessment that his old employers were "miles off it" painted a picture which brought agreement from fans,

"Offered nothing up front at all. Awful. Miles off it for a derby game," Shearer wrote on social media. The Newcastle front three of Woltemade, Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga all drew criticism from supporters, with one calling the display "abject and woeful".

"For a Derby that was embarrassing," another fan replied. "No pace, no fight, no hunger. You don’t drift through games like this. The shirt means more than that, the fans deserved far better."

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe conceded that his team weren't at their best. "It was not our finest game. The effort was there but the quality was not," he told Sky Sports. "It was a game of really few chances decided by a freak goal and we could not create the opening we wanted.

He added: "We know how much this means and all the focus on today was huge. We tried to deliver our best performance and we haven't done that. We feel disappointed in ourselves and that we left something on the pitch and that's a horrible feeling."

In contrast, Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka was delighted after his team's hard-fought victory. "Derbies, you have to win, it does not matter how," the Swiss international said. "This team deserves much more and more respect as where we are in the league is amazing and we're working really hard.

"In the first half we had much more control with the ball but it's normal you don't do it for 90 minutes. After 1-0 the game changed a bit, but we were very good without the ball and we deserved the three points for sure."

Newcastle are back in action on Wednesday, welcoming Fulham to St James' Park in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. They face a wait to discover whether Dan Burn will be available to face his former club after the defender was forced off injured on Wearside, with Howe saying: "Dan Burn has gone to hospital for a check of his ribs so hopefully he will be OK."

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