Sunday, 30 March saw Newcastle United narrowly lose to London City Lionesses in the Barclays Women’s Championship, following their historic victory against Sunderland, where the Magpies hosted a Championship record crowd of 38,502 at St James’ Park.
The game kicked off at 2pm in sunny but windy conditions at Kingston Park, and almost immediately, the home side found themselves behind. In the third minute, forward Isobel Goodwin smashed the ball past Claudia Moan following a poor clearance from Newcastle after a free kick. Despite the early deficit, Newcastle quickly grew into the game and created several chances, applying pressure well in the final third. Their efforts were rewarded with a goal just after the half-hour mark, following superb link-up play from Emily Murphy to Beth Lumsden, who found the back of the net with a deserved equaliser for the Magpies.
The home side’s momentum continued throughout the first half with a determined drive down the wing from Murphy, who slotted the ball to Shania Hayles; however, it wasn’t enough to rattle Lionesses’ goalkeeper Emily Orman. The visitors took the lead just before half-time, following a precise cross into the top right-hand corner from Sofia Jakobsson. Despite limited chances in the final third, London City Lionesses capitalised on a golden opportunity and went into the break with the upper hand.
HALF-TIME: 1-2
The start of the second half saw one change for the travelling side, as Irish international Megan Campbell replaced Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah. Newcastle quickly looked set to close the deficit with a number of opportunities on goal, including a free kick from Lumsden that forced Orman to push the strike behind her near post. Both teams showed glimpses of grabbing another goal, with Newcastle’s Murphy causing havoc in the visitors’ defence all afternoon.
The tightly contested second half saw two yellow cards for the Lionesses, handed to Imuran and Neville following late challenges. Rachel Furness was substituted off for Freya Gregory in the 65th minute, and London City Lionesses soon made back-to-back changes, with María Pérez making way for Freya Godfrey and Isobel Goodwin being replaced by Georgia Brougham. Play was briefly stopped approaching the 70-minute mark following an injury to Newcastle striker Shania Hayles, who was forced to come off and was replaced by Lois Joel.
Despite arguably being the better side throughout the game, Newcastle struggled to find that much-needed goal. With nearly 10 minutes left of regular time, Murphy’s effort on goal was again struck just over the bar. The visitors had a couple of chances denied near the final third due to stellar defending from the home side. End-to-end defensive blocks from both teams ultimately kept the scoreline unchanged from half-time.
At the 90-minute mark, the Lionesses made a final change, with Grace Neville making way for Cerys Brown. Newcastle’s last opportunity to snatch an equaliser came deep into stoppage time when Lumsden’s striking free kick was hit just shy of the target, agonisingly rattling the crossbar in the 95th minute.
FULL-TIME: 1-2
Attendance: 2,680
Newcastle United Women Starting XI:
Claudia Moan, Demi Stokes, Amber Keegan-Stobbs (C), Shania Hayles, Deanna Cooper, Rachel Furness, Jasmine McQuade, Charlotte Wardlaw, Beth Lumsden, Emily Murphy, Lia Cataldo
Subs used: Freya Gregory, Lois Joel
London City Lionesses Starting XI:
Emily Orman, Grace Neville, Teyah Goldie, Saki Kumagai, Kosovare Asllani, María Pérez, Sofia Jakobsson, Julia Roddar, Isobel Goodwin, Rofiat Imuran, Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah
Subs used: Georgia Brougham, Megan Campbell, Cerys Brown, Freya Godfrey
Referee: Joanne Horwood
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