Sunderland continue climb out of relegation zone after derby domination of Newcastle

Sunderland enjoyed a rollicking start to their weekend with a 3-0 English Premier League victory at Newcastle United on Saturday in the latest Tyne-Wear derby.

A Fabio Borini penalty kick and an Adam Johnson goal four minutes apart gave Sunderland a two-goal lead at half-time at St James’ Park. Jack Colback made sure of the points 10 minutes from time with an emphatic finish from a sharp angle.

Sunderland, who were bottom of the league on Christmas Day, continued their recent revival, winning their fourth straight match and remaining unbeaten in eight. They moved to 24 points, ending the day in 14th after temporarily sharing 11th place with Swansea City.

Newcastle, meanwhile, stayed in eighth place on 37 points and have just one win in their last seven matches.

In Saturday’s other early kick-off, two first-half goals from Kevin Nolan gave West Ham United enough cushion to see out a 2-0 home defeat of Swansea. Even a 59th-minute red card to Andy Carroll, who was sent off after getting tangled with Chico Flores, who dramatically collapsed to the turf.

West Ham rose out of the bottom three with the win, provisionally moving into 17th place on 22 points and goal difference ahead of Stoke City. Swansea stayed in 11th place.

Later, Cardiff City lifted themselves off the foot of the table with a 2-1 home victory against Norwich City. Robert Snodgrass had given Norwich the lead after just five minutes, but Craig Bellamy and new signing Kenwyne Jones struck a minute apart for Cardiff. Bellamy became the first player to score for seven different Premier League clubs with his 49th-minute strike.

Cardiff jumped over Fulham into 19th place with 21 points while Norwich ended Saturday in 15th place on 24 points, just two clear of the relegation places.

Fulham sunk to last place after a second-half collapse saw Southampton win 3-0 at Craven Cottage. Goals from Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez in an 11-minute span gave the visitors the win. Southampton stayed in ninth place on 35 points.

Everton bounced back from their derby-day disappointment with a 2-1 defeat of Aston Villa. Leandro Bacuna had given the visitors an early lead at Goodison Park, but Steven Naismith hauled Everton level moments after coming on for John Stones and Kevin Mirallas scored the winner on a free kick five minutes from time.

Everton moved into fifth place on 45 points, one outside the Uefa Champions League places, though the top four all have matches on Sunday. Aston Villa remained in 10th place on 27 points.

Hull City received near-instant dividends from their signing of Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic after the pair linked up after 12 minutes for the opening goal of Hull’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur. Paulinho drew Tottenham level in the 61st minute, collecting a deflected ball in the box and slotting home.

Tottenham slipped to sixth place on 44 points, one behind Everton, while Hull stayed in 13th on 24 points. Just five points separate 10th-place Aston Villa from 18th-place West Ham.

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