The second home Championship league game of the 2025 calendar year and a vital win for Becky Langley’s side, who showed the men how it’s done with a late goal at the right end on Sunday.
The 3 – 2 victory over a tough Bristol side was good revenge for the defeat down at Ashton Gate in November and a very welcome three points indeed.
Wor Lasses have now closed to within three points of third place and crucially have games in hand. Some of them against teams higher up in the table. If United can keep their winning run going they could still be in the mix for the title and a third successive promotion.
Whilst that is probably an outside chance at best what Sunday’s win did confirm was that Newcastle are rightfully in the Championship and will stay at the very least in the same division next season. It was always felt this was going to be a consolidation season and that is the way it’s looking.
That said with games to come against Durham and then the Tyne-Wear Derby v Sunderland at St. James Park at the end of the month they are looking not just to consolidate but show that they are one of the top teams in the division as well.
Sunday’s win will certainly help that claim and it came in a five-goal thriller that exploded into life as early as the seventh minute when United took the lead. A poor pass back towards her own goal by Mari Ward was picked off by Northern Ireland international Rachel Furness.
Furness cleverly played the ball inside to Lois Joel who found Beth Lumsden in the inside right channel. Lumsden cutting inside beautifully past Chloe Mustaki and then curling a superb left shot from 14-yards past the despairing dice of Fran Bentley in the City goal.
If the Lady Mags though had any thoughts of cashing in on their start they were dashed within 63 seconds as Bristol levelled virtually from the kick-off. Sille Struck playing a ball from the back to Malaika Meena who drilled a great ball down the right touchline for Ward to run onto.
Ward crossed low into the box finding Emily Syme who held the ball up well and then laid it back for Meena to race onto and crash a superb right-foot drive from 14-yards past Claudia Moan who had no chance and into the top right-hand corner of the net.
Within 15 minutes though Lumsden doubled her tally and put United back in front with an almost identical strike to her first goal. Once again Ward gave the ball away in a dangerous place. This to Joel who flicked it inside to birthday girl Emily Murphy.
The Republic of Ireland star elected not to shoot herself but instead found Lumsden once again in the inside right channel. Lumsden cutting inside again and then rifling her fierce left foot from 12 yards high into the net past the helpless Bentley.
Both sides continued pressing but the closest the game came to a fourth goal in the opening 45 minutes was with a good Bristol attack late on in the half. Ffion Morgan taking a good pass on the right before firing in a low cross to the near post.
It was met by Lexi Lloyd-Smith inside the six-yard box who tried a cute back-heeled effort but Moan was well placed to block the on-target flick and enable her side to retain their one-goal lead at the break.
United came the closest initially to finding the net again as the second half unfolded. Deanna Cooper playing a superb sliding ball from the back that released the speedy Lumsden down the right. Her cross was very deep but was well retrieved by Freya Gregory.
Gregory got to the byline and pulled the ball back inside the six-yard box where substitute Jas McQuade breaking late got in front of the Bristol defence but under pressure could only poke the ball narrowly wide.
Then Lumsden showed great strength to in a ball in the centre circle and send the rampaging Murphy in on goal. The angle was tight and slightly against United’s striker but she went for the near post and brought a smart blocking save out of Bentley.
Those two chances gone; Newcastle paid the penalty on 81 minutes when City levelled the scores for the second time. This time it was a corner on United’s left that was their undoing. Jess Simpson delivered and Amy Rodgers beat Cooper in the air on the six-yard box and looped her header into the net.
But it was Deja-vu all over again but this time in the opposite direction as Newcastle regained the lead for the final time within 60 seconds of the away side’s equaliser. A free kick on the right touchline midway inside the Bristol half was won by McQuade and Gregory set the ball up.
Gregory’s delivery was deep flicking off the head of City’s Simpson and dropping inside the six-yard box where Cooper who had gambled on the ball going far was on hand unmarked to beat Bentley to the ball and poke it home from a yard or so out.
As the game drifted into injury time Bristol came close to another equaliser when a long cross from the left saw Harley Bennett almost get on the end of it. The ball fell instead to Rodgers who returned it dangerously inside the United six-yard area but Cooper was alert and thumped the ball clear.
The last chance of the game fell to Newcastle and the impressive Murphy. This time she intercepted a Bristol throw-in before setting off for goal. Driving into the box she was unlucky to see a ferocious 8-yard angled right-footer fly inches over the bar with Bentley well beaten.
It mattered not as the final whistle went very soon after and United’s resilience, character and never-say-never attitude to keep going was rewarded with three big points thanks to the late Cooper effort. An effort that sets United up nicely for the two big derby games to come in quick succession.
A shout-out to the faithful Newcastle United Women’s fanbase as well. A crowd of 1,871 was not as high as normal but with the Men playing at home against Brighton in the Emirates FA Cup at the same time it was still a very good effort and they were loud and proud throughout the game.