Police The Big Winners in The Tyne Wear Derby

It's arguably one of the country's most hostile encounters both on and off the pitch. Previous games between Newcastle and Sunderland have seen running battles between fans in the streets surrounding St James' Park.

But today there was none of that, police admitting they had learned lessons from the past. Nearly five thousand Sunderland fans were marshalled safely into the stadium for a match that means so much to so many in this part of the country.

Police leave was cancelled for this weekend, and the manpower on the street ensured those looking to cause trouble weren't able to.

• The match itself finished one all. Sunderland taking the lead with a first half penalty by Niklas Bendtner. Newcastle snatching an equaliser with a last minute goal from Shola Amaeobi. It had two sendings off, a penalty miss and a confrontation between the two managers. Just your average Tyne Wear Derby.

A draw was a fair result. And for police it was possibly the best one. The operation to shepherd the fans out of the ground safely passed off without a hitch. Overall police made 18 arrests, which with a crowd of 52, 839 is being hailed a major success.