Newcastle boss Allardyce was delighted to end a run of two successive defeats and a three-game wait for a point on the road after their 1-1 draw at Sunderland.

He said: "I am not bothered whether we were fortunate or not. You just don't lose a derby and we haven't, which is very, very important indeed.

"Under the circumstances when our away form in our last two games was very poor, it was important to put that right, and we had to put it right in a game like this which we could not afford to lose.

"We came back from a goal down as well, which is the first time we have got back into a game from a goal down and got something out of the game away from home this season."