AT the risk of sounding like Corporal Jones, Newcastle United don't like it up 'em.

Having held their own in the rarefied atmosphere of the San Siro only last month, they found a parochial affair at the Stadium of Light an altogether more awkward proposition.

So what if Newcastle are one of the nation's Champions League standard bearers, while Sunderland have turned losing into an art form?

Save for the indiscretion by Kevin Kilbane that conceded the decisive penalty, the likes of Kevin Kyle and Sean Thornton matched Craig Bellamy, Kieron Dyer et al blow for blow.

Mick McCarthy knew the gulf in class between the two teams was as big as the 17 places that separate the clubs in the Premiership.

But how would Newcastle react to being roughed up? Not very well, as it turned out.

All the Champions League experience in the world wouldn't have prepared Hugo Viana for the bumps and bruises he collected on Saturday.

Usually so assured, Viana had his cage rattled as Sunderland bristled and bit into every tackle. And when he retaliated by clattering Kyle, the gifted Portugal midfielder was cautioned.

How Newcastle missed Gary Speed, who could have stamped his physical presence on this frenetic derby.

In these days of sanitised football, players are severely punished for even the most minor infringement.

At times, they seem reluctant to tackle, fearful of the consequences that committing a foul bring.

Certainly, the likes of John McGrath and Mick Horswill would have picked up more bookings than Ticketmaster if they had plied their uncompromising trade now.

How refreshing it was, then, to witness a raw-boned derby where substance mattered much more than style.

Sir Bobby Robson was furious with Darren Williams's no-nonsense approach, but to be fair the defender just seemed to be aggressive rather than nasty.

There was also no malice in Thornton's lunge that cut short Alan Shearer's afternoon, and possibly his season.

Newcastle were ruffled, and Bellamy for one looked exasperated at times as referee Steve Bennett refused to clamp down on Sunderland's tough-tackling tactics.

Amid all the brawn, there was the brain of David Bellion, reminding everyone of what a major loss he has been to the Black Cats' cause since Christmas.

One dummy that fooled Aaron Hughes was delightful, and up front the ever-willing Kyle and Michael Proctor were more than nuisance value.

The two Newcastle fans who have become famous for being grotesquely fat were as nervous as their fellow Toon Army footsoldiers as their team, normally as sleek and smooth as a Formula One car, coughed and spluttered all afternoon.

Jermaine Jenas never took a backward step in the heat of midfield battle, but he was never granted the time on the ball to showcase his England credentials.

How different this Sunderland performance was to the one that effectively sounded the deathknell for Peter Reid's seven-and-a-half year reign.

At St James' Park in September, they were as meek and mild as snow.

On Saturday, they tore into Newcastle and seemed hell-bent on wreaking as much damage as a hurricane.

That they did not dent their rivals' Champions League hopes says more for the Magpies' refusal to be cowed than Sunderland's failings.

Sunderland are going down, but they are not doing so without a fight.

The Wearside gloom merchants are predicting tough times ahead for their club.

But had Corporal Jones seen them push Newcastle to the brink on Saturday, he would have been less concerned.

OK, so the club is heavily in debt and the squad is way too weak for the Premiership.

But by keeping the attitude they took into the last North-East derby of the season, Sunderland will be all right.

In fact, to filch another of Jones's sayings: "Don't panic!"

Read more about Sunderland here.