On numerous occasions during the 75 minutes he spent on the pitch during the Wear-Tyne derby, Nick Woltemade cut an extremely isolated, peripheral and forlorn figure in the opposition box. A bad afternoon for Newcastle’s German striker got significantly worse shortly after half-time when he cut an even more isolated, peripheral and forlorn figure in his own team’s box after inadvertently heading a Nordi Mukiele cross past Aaron Ramsdale from six yards out.

Woltemade’s embarrassing own goal proved to be the unwitting match-winner in a contest that had until that point been high on full-blooded aggression but low on moments of real quality. As he made way for Yoane Wissa, it was no surprise the Sunderland fans granted the visibly deflated 23-year-old a sarcastic ovation. A fan favourite on Tyneside until the 46th minute of this match, Woltemade has now pulled off the unlikely feat of winning a permanent, bitterly ironic place in mackem hearts.

It may have been the biggest show in town but the first Premier League derby between these sides in almost a decade wasn’t the only local drama scheduled for Sunday afternoon. Less than a mile from the Stadium of Light, the matinee performance of Sleeping Beauty, the Christmas panto, was kicking off at the Empire Theatre. The cursed Princess Aurora will have done exceptionally well to have dozed through the febrile, visceral cacophony that rumbled across town from all four sides of the nearby cauldron of conflict when the players took to the pitch under a tifo boasting a ferocious black cat with fangs slavering and claws bared.

Newcastle cowered accordingly and their extreme caution was all too apparent in an opening 45 minutes during which both sides huffed and puffed to no great effect but the hosts at least tried to attack, albeit through a series of hideously overhit crosses. Marooned up front due in no small part to a Newcastle approach that had Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga perform more as auxiliary full‑backs than wingers, Woltemade was given an early inkling this might not be his day when the increasingly ineffectual Gordon subjected him to a very severe and public dressing-down for the heinous crime of misplacing a pass. Having contributed little or nothing, both Newcastle wide men would be withdrawn on the hour mark.

Like most high-profile local rivalries, the mutual contempt between fans of Sunderland and Newcastle United purports to be an animus without equal. Yet, if familiarity breeds contempt, absence certainly hadn’t made contrasting hearts grow fonder and at times during a stop-start first half the pitch resembled the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan. Bodies slumped on, or fell to the deck theatrically and Dan Burn was forced off with damaged ribs to unsympathetic jeers. Despite showing early leniency, Peter Bankes showed his yellow card nine times during a game that simmered without ever threatening to boil over.

An auspicious occasion for Sunderland after an eight-season absence from the Premier League, it was tempered by the upsetting news that the club legend Gary Rowell had died. Word of the 1979 derby-day hat-trick hero’s death after a long illness had spread through the city centre the previous evening and in at least one bar hosting Christmas revellers, a previously festive atmosphere immediately turned maudlin. It was like somebody had flicked a switch and before kick-off, a warm and lengthy tribute was paid to the former striker with a standing ovation.

In terms of style and personnel, today’s iteration of Sunderland bears little resemblance to the Championship side that was contemptuously swatted aside in an FA Cup tie by Newcastle at the Stadium of Light in January 2024. Arguably a blessing in disguise, that grim day in Sunderland’s recent history would ultimately lead to the recruitment of Régis Le Bris as head coach and a well-funded summer revival few fans could have imagined during the club’s fly-on-the-wall Netflix documentary banter years. Immense on Sunday, the experienced Granit Xhaka is the poster boy for a shrewd summer transfer window splurge that heralded 14 new arrivals, while the 20-year-old Noah Sadiki, a Belgium-born Democratic Republic of the Congo international, has proved one of last summer’s best signings for any Premier League side.

In recent years, Newcastle have enjoyed their own trajectory of ascent under their preposterously wealthy Saudi Arabian owners, and Champions League nights and silverware may have helped engender the hope, if not belief, that their own days of humiliation were finally over. They have struggled away from home in this campaign and as defeats go, this was as harrowing and chastening as they get. They have now failed to beat Sunderland in 10 consecutive league games and this reverse was their fourth on the spin at the Stadium of Light, increasingly a fortress where the mood could scarcely be more upbeat.