A life-long Sunderland football supporter died happy when he had a heart attack after seeing his team beat arch-rivals Newcastle by one goal in a highly-charged derby game, it emerged yesterday.

Supporter Ron Hutcheon murmured ''two-one" before he collapsed. They were his last words.

It is thought that the excitement of the tension-packed game - rounded off for Sunderland fans when former England captain Alan Shearer missed a late penalty, might have proved too much for 71-year-old Mr Hutcheon.

The Tyne-Wear derby was played at Newcastle's St James's Park, but Sunderland had arranged for the game to be televised at the club's Stadium of Light.

Mr Hutcheon, a retired engine fitter, was taken ill as he left the Stadium of Light, but shouted the score before collapsing.

Paramedics were called to the scene, but the father-of-three was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.

His shocked family was still coming to terms with his death yesterday, but said that it was the way Mr Hutcheon, a devoted fan from the Southwick area of Sunderland, would have wanted to go.

The story emerged when Mr Hutcheon's death notice was placed in his local evening newspaper, the Sunderland Echo,

He was a member of a football jury who featured in a column in the newspaper, giving their views on the Black Cats' matches.

Mr Hutcheon's widow, Chris, told the Sunderland Echo: ''It is a comfort to know he died happy.

''He was a Sunderland fan right to the last, but he had heart problems, and the excitement could have been too much for him.

"Ron was a season ticket holder, and the only time he would go out would be to see Sunderland matches, or to watch them play on TV at his local pub.

''Football was his life. He was a real Sunderland fan, and it was all he could ever think about.

''We know he would have died happy, and that it was quick, but it has shocked us all.

''I don't think any of us will forget this derby.''

Mr Hutcheon's funeral will be held today, at St Hilda's Church, Southwick.