Sunderland AFC Ladies took on main rivals Newcastle United Women at the Stadium of Light for the first time in the Women’s Championship on Sunday. The atmosphere in the stadium was incredible, fans erupted into cheers (and boos) from the get go, and an attendance of 15,387 with a 2.5K allocation to Newcastle fans, in which they sold out within days of the tickets being released. This was a record for attendance in the whole of the Women’s Championship. With Sunderland sitting at 8th on the league table and Newcastle in 6th, the game could've gone either way.
The hosts lined up with goalkeeper Demi Lambourne, who was on loan to WSL’s newly-promoted Crystal Palace last season. Jessica Brown, Amy Goddard, West Ham’s Jessie Stapleton, and Grace Ede took their place at the back, while midfield was taken up by captain Natasha Fenton, Jenna Dear and Katie Kitching. Emily Scarr, Mary McAteer and Eleanor Dale were the forwards chosen.
Newcastle brought in a side that started off with Sunderland’s former goalkeeper, Claudia Moan. Former Lioness Demi Stokes, Rachel Furness, Charlotte Potts and Liv Watt lined up at the back in defence, while Jasmine McQuade, Elysia Boddy and captain Amber Keegan Stobbs were in midfield. Beth Lumsden, Crystal Palace’s Isabella Sibley, and Shania Hayles were the three forwards.
Both teams opted for the 4-3-3 formation.
Photo Credit: @elslaterphotography
Prior to the game, the teams and the fans took to a minute’s applause for Colin Lock, Newcastle’s photographer who had also worked for Sunderland previously. Colin passed away after a long battle with cancer just a few months ago.
The rivalry heated up as the players took to the pitch, both sets of fans eager to see how the game would go.
The game started with a chance for Sunderland which was saved and cleared by Newcastle’s Claudia Moan. Newcastle were quick to come back from this, and a lot of time was spent on the other side of the pitch, with Newcastle creating lots of chances and shots.
28 minutes in was the break of the deadlock. Newcastle United scored the first goal, with an excellent shot from Beth Lumsden which took Sunderland’s Demi Lambourne by surprise. Rachel Furness assisted the goal with a great pass over to Lumsden. Sunderland had a chance to get one back just a few minutes later, but Claudia Moan was on the ball and quickly stopped it from going in.
3 minutes of extra time were given, and Newcastle were 1-0 at half time.
The second half saw a half time substitution for Newcastle United, with Rachel Furness being replaced by Hannah Greenwood in defence. Sunderland didn't make any changes at half time.
Newcastle’s second goal of the day also came from Beth Lumsden, this time from a corner in the 48th minute, putting Newcastle ahead of Sunderland by 2. Newcastle fans were quick to celebrate.
54 minutes in saw a chance for Sunderland, with Jessie Stapleton heading Katie Kitching’s shot towards the goal, but this was saved, a big chance missed for Sunderland. Just four minutes later, Newcastle were exceptionally close to a third goal, Shania Hayles being so close but being denied of an even bigger lead due to a save from Sunderland's Demi Lambourne.
Sunderland managed to pull one back in the 78th minute, Emily Scarr being the scorer for this, but later it was confirmed on BBC Sport that it was an own goal from Newcastle’s Liv Watt. This caused Newcastle to get a bit nervous that they would lose their lead, but they managed to continue for the rest of the game without conceding an equaliser, despite a yellow card for Amber Keegan Stobbs, and then Elysia Boddy in the 7 minutes extra time for delaying the restart. Sunderland’s Jessica Brown also received a booking in extra time, for a foul on Newcastle's Katie Barker.
The full time whistle blew and the full time score was Newcastle United Women 2 - 1 Sunderland AFC Ladies. An excellent performance from both teams, but it was the Championship’s newest addition, Newcastle that took the 3 points.
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