Sunderland 1 Newcastle 0 player ratings: Did Jermain Defoe's wonder-goal make him man of the match at the Stadium of Light?

Sunderland are now three points clear from the danger zone.

(GETTY IMAGES)

Jermain Defoe's stunning volley led Sunderland to a very important victory of 1-0 against local rivals Newcastle.

Dick Advocaat's team started really strong in the Northern derby as Connor Wickham's header hit Tim Krul's post on 22 minutes.

Then, at the first minute of stoppage time the former Tottenham striker picked up the ball, after a header by Steven Fletcher, and fired it behind the Magpies' net from outside the box.

Half-time saw a very confident home team making it back to the dressing room and a very emotional Defoe who left the pitch in tears.

The Black Cats came close to a second in separate occasions with a shot by Patrick van Aanholt and Fletcher on 70 minutes as well as Sebastian Larsson later on.

Check out our player ratings and let us know who you think was the Northern derby's man of the match:

The Sweden international almost came close in doubling the lead with a free kick that just missed Newcastle's right post.

John Carver's side, that featured Jonas Gutierrez on the starting lineup after almost two years, came close to an equaliser three minutes before full time with a wild shot by Ayoze Perez.

Sunderland just dethroned Aston Villa and Hull City from 16th and 15th place respectively and are three points clear from Burnley and relegation.