Sunderland and Newcastle share derby spoils

Sunderland AFC rescued a 1-1 draw against ten-man Newcastle United FC in a fiercely contested Tyne-Wear derby, before Queens Park Rangers FC were held to the same scoreline by Everton FC. 

Martin O'Neill's charges were slow out of the blocks and paid the price inside three minutes when Demba Ba's driven effort proved too hot to handle, allowing Yohan Cabaye to fire the rebound beyond Simon Mignolet. Sunderland struggled to respond and only came to life when Cheick Tioté was sent off for a tackle on Steven Fletcher after 25 minutes. 

Craig Gardner's venomous shot shaved a post, yet Alan Pardew's side refused to relent and came close to doubling their lead when Ba acrobatically hooked the ball over. They tempered their adventure after the break, while Sunderland failed to convert possession into chances. That finally changed on 85 minutes when John O'Shea met Sebastian Larsson's free-kick and planted a header in off Ba from close range.

Meanwhile, QPR are still without a win this season. The game was just two minutes old when David Hoilett's low shot deflected in, but visitors Everton drew level when Sylvain Distin's header came back off Júlio César and trickled over the line. Mark Hughes' side wrestled back the initiative after Steven Pienaar was dismissed on 61 minutes, but Everton defended doggedly to frustrate their opponents.