Joey Barton was spat at and pelted with missiles as Sunderland ended their 28-year wait for a home victory over Newcastle winning 2-1.
The controversial midfielder was targeted by home fans as he warmed up on the sidelines during the second half of a pulsating Wear-Tyne derby.
Barton eventually arrived on the pitch as an 84th-minute replacement for Nicky Butt but, by that point, the drama had already unfolded.
Kieran Richardson was the hero when, a week after twice being denied with free-kicks at Fulham, he smashed home a stunning winner from a similar position with 15 minutes remaining.
Djibril Cisse had earlier given the home side a 20th-minute lead, although that was cancelled out by Shola Ameobi within 10 minutes.
Ameobi, who had not scored in two years before Monday's draw with Manchester City, might have doubled his tally 13 minutes after the break, but substitute Kenwyne Jones headed just over and Cisse hit the post as the home side threatened to win more comfortably in front of a passionate sell-out crowd of 47,936.
The teams entered the arena on an afternoon when anti-racism campaigners were stressing the message `One game, one community', although in another sense, the game represented a battle between two communities with intense local pride at stake.
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