Newcastle United defender Paul Dummett has claimed that Sunderland should not have been awarded a penalty in his side's 3-0 defeat at the Stadium of Light.
The Magpies had the best of the opening 44 minutes of the Wear-Tyne derby before Steven Fletcher was brought down in the box by Fabricio Coloccini to earn the Black Cats a penalty, which also resulted in the dismissal of the Argentine by referee Bobby Madley.
Adam Johnson scored from the spot and second-half strikes from Billy Jones and Fletcher won the match for Sam Allardyce's men, but Dummett believes that the contest would have panned out differently had the decision not gone against the visitors.
He told the club's official website: "It's very disappointing, especially after the start we made in the first half. We had complete control of the game, they never looked like troubling us until right at the end [of the first half] when a huge decision changed the game.
"I haven't seen it again but from my view on the pitch it looked harsh. It should never have even been a foul, in my opinion. From then they got their goals and it's hard with ten men in the Premier League - that's never going to be easy.
"We created a lot but couldn't find a way past their keeper. It wasn't to be but the lads battled on really well, especially with ten men. Credit to the lads because even with the Colo getting sent off and Jack [Colback] having to go off injured, we battled on well."
Newcastle's defeat to Sunderland was their sixth on the spin to their rivals.
Simon Sinclair
