‘I cried’ - Sunderland legend dines out on incredible goal to crush Newcastle United once again

Sunderland legend Jermaine Defoe has opened up on his most emotional footballing moment, which came during a Tyne-Wear derby classic while playing for the Black Cats. The England international only spent years in the North East towards the end of his career but his off-the-pitch relationship with young Bradley Lowery and return to the club in 2022 cemented his status as a fan favourite.

Defoe scored some memorable goals while at the Stadium of Light too, and none more so than during a meeting with Newcastle United in 2015. On his BBC Sounds podcast Football Firsts, presented alongside Watford legend Troy Deeney, Defoe this week was asked about his most emotional footballing moment. Without hesitation, he said it came while playing for Sunderland.

During a Premier League meeting with Newcastle United in 2015, Defoe smashed home a volley on the stroke of halftime in what would go on to be the winner in a 1-0 Black Cats triumph. Defoe has spoken about the moment before, including an in-depth analysis with Magpies defender Ryan Taylor on Sky Sports.

Enjoying telling the tale once again, Defoe said: "When I scored the volley against Newcastle for Sunderland. I knew it was a massive game and everywhere you go people say, you've got to beat Newcastle. I was so fired up before the game, everything I did in training leading up to the game was bang, bang, bang. I was ready, I knew when I got up in the morning I was going to score.

"It was just before halftime, it was a long ball and Fletch [Steven Fletcher] flicked it on. I was so excited, I was running everywhere, I remember looking at the clock and it was 44 minutes I was knackered and I was hot.

"The ball's come down and I thought I'm just going to hit it, I'm not going to even bring it down because of my legs. I made contact, hit the top corner and I went mad. All the boys jumped on me, I got up and had goosebumps. The stadium erupted and I started crying. It was mental. Up there, it's on another level. I hadn't experienced it to that level and the noise took over my body."

In the footage from that match, it's clear to see Defoe struggling to hold back the tears after celebrating the goal with Sunderland fans, soaking up the raucous Stadium of Light atmosphere during his first derby day.

Sunderland went on to finish that season in 16th place in the Premier League under Gus Poyet and Dick Advocaat with that derby win their first under the latter having gone winless since January 31. Newcastle United finished that season just one point and one place above Sunderland in the table.