Anthony Gordon delivers blunt Sunderland verdict after Newcastle surrender lead in Tyne-Wear derby
Anthony Gordon admitted Newcastle United were “not good enough” after their Tyne-Wear derby defeat to Sunderland, insisting the visitors were the better side in the second half at St James’ Park.
Newcastle took the lead in the first half and appeared in control for long periods, but Sunderland turned the game around after the break to secure a 2-1 victory and complete a league double over their rivals. Reflecting on the performance, Gordon acknowledged familiar issues had resurfaced, particularly after half-time. “Not good enough, really. No excuses,” he said. “We were good for [just] 45 minutes, which has been the case too often this season.
“It’s something we knew going into the game and something we have been trying to work on this season. Not good enough [our] start to the second half, they were the better team in the second half. We had chances, we had some good play in the first half, but to be honest, I don’t think we showed our quality.”
The defeat was another blow for Newcastle, who have struggled to maintain control in games this season, and Gordon admitted the manner of the loss made it particularly difficult to accept. “It’s probably worse,” he said when asked how it compared to the reverse fixture earlier in the campaign. Both are just as bad, but the way we lost the game, we went ahead 1-0, the way we were playing, I thought they were really poor. And then we let them into the game and basically gave them the win.”
Gordon also offered a blunt assessment of the gap between the two sides, insisting Newcastle should not be losing fixtures of this nature - especially on home soil. “The frustrating thing is, in my opinion, they’re not a very good team, compared to us. We shouldn’t lose to them,” he added. “Away is obviously more difficult because they have their fans and the atmosphere, but at home we should not lose that game. Not with the first half that we had, but again we have not been good enough with the start to second halves, and it’s an ongoing problem.”
Sunderland’s second-half performance ultimately proved decisive, with Gordon conceding that Newcastle United failed to match their intensity after the interval - a pattern that has now cost them repeatedly throughout the season.
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