Sunderland 0-3 Newcastle: Magpies earn FA Cup bragging rights to ease Eddie Howe pressure

Newcastle booked their place in the FA Cup fourth round by beating local rivals Sunderland 3-0 in the first Wear-Tyne derby for almost eight years.

Dan Ballard's unfortunate first-half own goal and Alexander Isak efforts that bookended the second period eased the building pressure on Magpies boss Eddie Howe and earned their first victory over their fiercest foes since 2011.

Isak would surely have had a derby day hat-trick to remember, had Ballard not inadvertently turned Joelinton's dangerous cross into his own net with the Swede lurking in behind 10 minutes before the break.

That opening goal was no less than dominant Newcastle deserved, with feeble Sunderland mustering just one tame shot in a one-sided first half in response to several chances spurned by homegrown Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff.

The young and overawed Black Cats needed a response after half-time but made the worst possible start, with not even 40 seconds on the clock when Pierre Ekwah was woefully caught in possession inside his own box and the impressive Miguel Almiron teed up Isak to thrash home.

Newcastle were in firm control of a feisty tie at 2-0, though Alex Pritchard did his best to drag Sunderland back into the game as his dipping strike skimmed the crossbar before he also forced a smart low save from Martin Dubravka.

The visitors wrapped up a comfortable derby victory on the cusp of stoppage time, the confident Isak sending home goalkeeper Anthony Patterson the wrong way from the penalty spot after Ballard had brought down Anthony Gordon.

It ended a 12-and-a-half year wait for a win in one of English football's biggest derbies, easing the questions over Howe's future after a dire recent run that had seen Newcastle slip down to ninth in the Premier League table to compound their respective exits from the Champions League and Carabao Cup.

Sunderland will now focus on their own attempts to join their rivals in the top-flight, having moved back into the Championship top six under new boss Michael Beale.