My Newcastle United Player Ratings vs Sunderland (A)

Player Ratings

Steve Harper (6.5) - Made some very good saves but can possibly be at fault for their goal too.

Danny Simpson (6.5) - Defended well and was part of a solid back four. Was unable to attack too much though and was guilty of giving the ball away a few times too many.

Mike Williamson (7.5) - Looked very shaky early on but got better as the game progressed and won quite a bit in the air. Should be happy with his performance.

Fabricio Coloccini (9) - The man was incredible today. Defended superbly with some fine cover tackles as well as being good in the air and being a calming influence at the back. Read the game well and showed what a classy centre back he is.

Jose Enrique (8) - Another typical Enrique performance. Solid at the back and excellent going forward. Made some brilliant runs and put in some good balls into the box.

Joey Barton (7.5) - Continued his good form today. Played some intelligent balls over the top for the strikers to run onto and provided the corner from which we scored from.

Alan Smith (6) - Went off with an injury but didn't do as bad as I thought he would do.

Kevin Nolan (7.5) - Scored yet another goal against our rivals and took it well with an intelligent flick. Also did some defensive work and yet again showed his worth to the team.

Jonas Gutierrez (7.5) - It was a good display from Jonas in that he continuously ran at the Sunderland defence and never made it easy for their right back. Worked hard for the team and it was another energetic performance from him.

Leon Best (7) - Proved to be a decent outlet up front and showed some neat touches. I liked his back heel and the way he kept working hard up front. Certainly did not let the team down.

Shola Ameobi (7) - Missed two really good opportunities but did win a lot in the air and allowed the other players to run onto those flick ons. Played his part in the goal and had a pretty good game overall.

Substitutes
Danny Guthrie (6.5) - Got better after a poor first half of about 15 minutes. Seemed to gain more confidence as the game went on which was good to see.

Dan Gosling (6.5) - Looked impressive in the few minutes he was on for.

Peter Lovenkrands (N/A) - Barely got involved in the few minutes he was on.

Man of the Match - Fabricio Coloccini