Ryan Taylor's free-kick helped Newcastle United defeat Sunderland 1-0 in a tight Tyne-Wear derby at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.
Sunderland finished the game with 10 men to compound the misery for the hosts, with Phil Bardsley was sent off late on to continue Steve Bruce's horrible record in derbies.
Though it could scarcely have gone as badly as last season's 5-1 defeat away to their bitter rivals, this toothless display will have silenced the fans' optimism after they began the season with an opening-day draw at Anfield.
The match was a typical derby game, combative and fiercely contested throughout the opening exchanges, and it was the Black Cats that started the game with more purpose.
They attacked almost solidly for the opening 15 minutes, though they could not really make the pressure tell despite Stephane Sessegnon’s best efforts.
The first flashpoint, however, came in the home side’s penalty area, with a huge let off for the hosts.
Shola Ameobi nodded the ball across goal after Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet failed to collect, and Newcastle's Joey Barton got his head to the ball to divert goalwards.
Sebastian Larsson diverted the goal-bound effort with his arm, but referee Howard Webb waved away Barton's vehement pleas for a penalty.
The match was disappointingly sparse and becoming rather scrappy in the midfield, though Mignolet and Newcastle’s Tim Krul made good saves when they were called upon.
The half ended with Asamoah Gyan, who had been relatively quiet up to that point, just clipping the bar as he curled a shot over.
The second half began quietly, until Sunderland had a penalty shout of their own, again turned down by Webb, as Cheick Tiote seemed to bring down Kieran Richardson in the box.
It was Newcastle, however, who were looking the most likely to score, through the dangerous Jonas Gutierrez, cutting in from the left and bringing decent saves from Krul.
And it was Gutierrez who paved the way for the first goal, going on another weaving run, only to be brought down in the channel.
From here, Ryan Taylor’s free-kick sailed into the box and though his namesake Steven Taylor was flying in to meet the ball, he did not get a touch on it as it flew into the far corner past a despairing Mignolet.
And in the 89th minute, it seemed their misery was complete when Bardsley saw red for his second bookable offence after a high kick on Fabricio Coloccini.