Sunderland striker Steven Fletcher has admitted that his side were in dire need of their 3-0 victory over Newcastle United in the Wear-Tyne derby.
The Black Cats took the lead right on the stroke of half time when the Scot was fouled in the penalty area by Fabricio Coloccini and a spot kick was awarded by referee Bobby Madley, who then dismissed the Argentine.
Adam Johnson converted from 12 yards and Fletcher, along with Billy Jones, secured the three points for Sam Allardyce's men in the second half to earn their first victory of the Premier League season.
Fletcher told the club's official website: "We desperately needed a win to kickstart our season and to get it against Newcastle is absolutely fantastic. The performance was great and getting three goals was nice.
"It is nice to beat Newcastle but it didn't matter who we were playing we just needed the victory."
Sunderland moved off the bottom of the table into 18th place as a result of their win.
Simon Sinclair
