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Sunderland were beaten 1-0 by Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon.
It was always going to be a newsworthy affair. The second Women’s Tyne-Wear Derby of the campaign between Sunderland and Newcastle United, played in front of a Championship-record crowd at St. James’ Park, was likely to make headlines regardless of the final scoreline, but in truth, this was a 1-0 defeat that the Black Cats will be bitterly disappointed to see committed to the history books.
In the end, some 38,502 turned out to watch a hard-fought encounter that looked destined to end in a begrudged sharing of the spoils before Shania Hayles scored a late, and ultimately decisive, winner.
Earlier in the week, Black Cats boss Mel Reay was adamant that her side were not overly mindful of the buoyant mood on Tyneside brought about by Newcastle men’s Carabao Cup triumph seven days ago, but on an afternoon in which the trophy was paraded on the pitch at half-time, Sunderland never really looked to find their footing in a hostile environment.
The first real chance of the contest fell the way of the hosts, with Sunderland caught out by a sweeping ball over the top from Demi Stokes, but Black Cats keeper Demi Lambourne did well to smother Beth Lumsden’s rushed effort.
From there, Newcastle looked encouraged, and the Black Cats had to weather a flurry of pressure in the early knockings as Becky Langley’s side, pushed on by a vocal home support, searched for an opener. It would be Sunderland who went close next, however, with Emily Scarr blazing over from distance.
That half-chance seemed to settle the visitors’ nerves somewhat, and minutes later they would trouble Newcastle’s goal again; this time it was the turn of Natasha Fenton to nod a header narrowly wide from a Katie Kitching corner.
After that, the contest settled into a tense, back and forth pattern of probing passages, with both sides grappling for control and Newcastle largely coming out on top. Lumsden flashed another shot wide of the upright, while Stokes and Freya Gregory continued to threaten out on the left flank.
The Magpies’ unrelenting pressure almost told just after the half hour mark when Lambourne failed to properly deal with a Gregory cross, and Sunderland captain Brianna Westrup had to be alert to clear a goal-bound header off the line. From the resulting corner, Newcastle went close again, with Stokes looping an effort just wide of the far post.
As the half wore on, Sunderland found it increasingly difficult to find a way out of their own defensive third, and while Newcastle struggled to create anything of real note in front of goal, teenager Katy Watson cut an isolated figure at the point of attack for the visitors. There would be one more relatively tame effort on target from Toon midfielder Rachel Furness - her shot fielded confidently by Lambourne - but for the most part, the first 45 minutes was an encounter of attrition that the Black Cats soundly lost on points.
Newcastle picked up where they left off after the interval, with the enterprising Lumsden cutting inside and lashing a wild effort over Lambourne’s crossbar within a matter of minutes. For their part, Sunderland reverted to sitting deep in an effort to stifle their hosts, seemingly waiting on the prospect of a swift countering break that never truly looked like coming.
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When the Black Cats did eventually work an opening, somewhat against the run of play, it fell to the diligent Watson, but the young forward could only fire her effort over the top at close quarters.
That shot would prove to be Watson’s last meaningful contribution, with the starlet replaced by Libbi McInnes shortly afterwards. Reay also introduced Jenna Dear for Fenton as she looked to breathe life into a meandering contest, but it would be Newcastle who eventually landed a telling blow in the 78th minute.
Keira Flanning, who had otherwise put in an admirable shift in the engine room, found herself overrun and dispossessed, and in an instant, Toon attacker Emily Murphy had slotted in substitute Hayles, who tucked away her chance in front of the Gallowgate End assuredly.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sunderland looked thoroughly deflated by that untimely setback, and as the seconds ebbed away and the final whistle approached, they toiled fruitlessly in search of an elusive spark.
Reay would roll the dice one last time with the introduction of Mary McAteer and Louise Griffiths in the dying moments, but neither were able to make their mark, and as four minutes of stoppage time trickled by, the Black Cats’ resolve fizzled out accordingly, sealing a second narrow Tyne-Wear Derby defeat of the campaign.
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