The spoils were shared in the north-east derby on Saturday as James Milner equalised for Newcastle soon after Sunderland's Danny Higginbotham had opened the scoring at the Stadium of Light.

In the 138th meeting between the two sides in front of a passionate crowd on Wearside, the visitors will have been the happier of the two sides to come away with a point, particularly as Sunderland's Michael Chopra saw a late header cannon of the underside of the bar.

A draw was a decent response from Newcastle to last week's dismal showing against Portsmouth, although the same defensive frailties displayed at St James' Park were again on show just 12 miles down the road.

The encounter took a while to get started and the opening 25 minutes of the game were cagey at best, with the only real scoring opportunity falling to Ross Wallace just before the quarter-hour mark. But the Sunderland midfielder could only sidefoot a volley over Steve Harper's cross bar when he probably had the time to take down the deep cross which found him at the far post.

The match kicked into life on 28 minutes though, Michael Owen bringing Craig Gordon - enjoying his first north-east derby since moving to the Stadium of Light in the summer - into action after Charles N'Zogbia's cross had found the England man at the far post.

Five minutes later, Grant Leadbitter - by that time sporting the captain's armband following the early withdrawal through injury of Nyron Nosworthy - had two super chances to break the deadlock, only to spurn both of them.

First, Alan Smith came to Newcastle's rescue with a clearance off the line from Leadbitter's well struck shot and then, moments later, the Sunderland-born player directed a header over the bar when he really should have found the target.

Leadbitter himself knew as much, a fact that was highlighted when he held his head in his hands as the teams departed the pitch for the dressing rooms at half-time.

But the best effort of the opening period was reserved for Chopra, back in the side to face the club he supported as a boy - his curler from the edge of the box was well dealt with by Harper in the Newcastle goal just before the half-time whistle.

Sunderland began the second half how they had ended the first - on the front foot. And within minutes, Roy Keane's side had fashioned another goalscoring opportunity, Kenwyne Jones displaying his aerial threat by directing a header goalwards and bringing a save out of Harper.

The opener arrived soon after, but Allardyce will have been disappointed to see yet more slack defending from his side. Wallace was allowed time and space from a quickly taken short corner to deliver a cross onto the head of Higginbotham, who finished with aplomb at the far post.

But the lead was not to last long and Milner put Newcastle back on level terms in the 65th minute with a cross shot that evaded everyone in the box to creep in off the far post.

At 1-1, the game assumed the mantle of a real derby, with both sides committed to attacking and neither willing to accept defeat. Challenges flew in, Viduka had to go off to get a cut on his eye stitched up and the crowd became increasingly involved in proceedings.

Jones had a chance to put the hosts back in the lead soon after the equaliser went in and Owen saw an effort stopped by Gordon at the other end, but it was Chopra - the former Newcastle player - who came closest to settling the game with just eight minutes remaining.

The summer signing popped up at the far post to head against the cross bar from a corner - had his effort gone in, he would have become only the second ever player to have scored for both sides in the north-east derby.

But Chopra could not find the target, and local bragging rights were shared until next time.

Eurosport