Ryan Taylor scored the only goal of the game as Newcastle beat rivals Sunderland 0-1 at the Stadium of Light this afternoon.
Steve Bruce's side had much of the ball in the early stages and kept a clean sheet, despite Joey Barton's penalty claim on 15 minutes after his effort on goal struck Sunderland's Sebastian Larsson on the arm.
The decision could have been crucial to the final result, but Ryan Taylor's free kick put the away side in front after the break and proved enough to secure the three points.
Sunderland's afternoon went from bad to worse when fullback Phil Bardsley received his second card of the night for a foul on Fabricio Colocinni, 10 minutes before time.
Newcastle next face Scunthorpe in the Carling Cup on Thursday (August 25), while Sunderland meet Brighton on Tuesday (August 23).
