THE NOTEBOOK: Fans relish a game without VAR as Newcastle win derby day

It was a day to forget for Sunderland supporters after Newcastle stormed into the FA Cup fourth-round with a 3-0 win at the Stadium of Light.

Two goals from Alexander Isak helped the Magpies secure a derby-day win over their fierce rivals.

The game was filled with strong challenges and a feisty atmosphere simmered throughout.

Here is Mail Sport's Aadam Patel with all the themes and details you might have missed from the game.

It was quite the welcome for players

It was quite the scene pre-match as thousands of Sunderland fans gathered to welcome the team bus with flags, flares and chants galore.

Jobe Bellingham took a moment to show his appreciation as he walked in for arguably the biggest game of his career.

Earlier this week, Mail Sport revealed that Newcastle spoke to Bellingham’s family before the teenager made the £1.5M move to Sunderland in the summer.

The welcome was not so pleasant for the Newcastle bus and shortly after the players had made their way inside, Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghoddousi were subjected to similar boos and jeers, with Ghoddousi’s face in particular pretty surprised at the reaction.

No VAR? No problem

There was a lovely feeling of authenticity about this game as a local derby in the third round of the cup and it was refreshing to see a football match without the interference of VAR.

‘Watching football without VAR is significantly more enjoyable,’ said Gary Lineker and those sentiments were shared by Eddie Howe, even though his side were potentially denied a first-half penalty because of the absence of technology.

‘It was an enjoyable experience without VAR,’ Howe told Mail Sport.

There's a future for Sunderland

The banner on the Roker End pre-match said ‘These young lads follow in the footsteps of legends’ and it was apt too.

Sunderland have the youngest squad across all four divisions of English football with an average age of just 23 and though it is a squad filled with exciting talent, their inexperience here showed against far superior opposition.

Pickford saved his blushes at half-time

Such was the buzz around this clash that former players of both sides came in from all around for the first Wear-Tyne Derby since 2016, with those here including Jordan Pickford and Fabio Borini.

Borini’s pre-match prediction to Mail Sport was two-nil to Newcastle though! Amongst the 6,000 fans in the Newcastle away end were former player Ryan Taylor and Premier League referee Michael Oliver.

Interestingly, Pickford was supposed to come on the pitch at half-time depending on the scoreline but with Sunderland trailing, that did not happen.

A good day at the office for Trippier

For Kieran Tripper, this was a much-needed performance after a torrid few weeks. Trippier missed out on Newcastle’s visit to Anfield but on his return here, the Newcastle skipper was exceptional with more touches than anyone else.

And when he was met with taunts from the home support in the second-half, Trippier simply pointed to the scoreboard.

High stakes at the Stadium of Light

It spoke volumes that Newcastle decided to take their customary dressing room celebration picture outside on the pitch in front of their away fans.

Such was the magnitude of the win. Asked post-match about it, Sunderland manager Michael Beale refused to share his emotions on that and simply said: ‘It showed that the game meant a hell of a lot to them.’