Sunderland Women face Newcastle United at the Stadium of Light on Sunday
Sunderland Women are bidding to bring an end to their poor recent record against Newcastle United at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.
Mel Reay's side all but secured their WSL 2 status with a win over Portsmouth last weekend, while the visitors remain firmly in contention for promotion to the top tier with four games left to play. While Sunderland have an outstanding recent record against local rivals Durham, they have lost all three games against Newcastle since their promotion back to the second tier.
It reflects Newcastle United's ambition and playing budget at this level, though Reay believes all three games have been close contests. The Sunderland head coach says the team are determined to put on a performance in front of what will be by a distance the biggest crowd of the campaign.
"We're conscious that we're going to be playing in front of the biggest home crowd of the season at the Stadium of Light," Reay said.
"We want to entertain the fans and we want to make them proud of the result - we know they're proud of the team because of the turnout week in, week out at Eppleton but there's no hiding from the magnitude of the game. It's a local derby, we're well aware of that. We know we haven't won one yet [since Newcastle's promotion].
"It's important. We have to try and grow the game, we have to try and grow the crowds. And we know that we can do that by good performances. Fans will come back, there'll be loads of new fans in the stadium who've maybe not watched the team for a while. You want to hook them in and you hook them in by playing well and getting points - we know winning this game will help."
Reay admits it has been a 'rollercoaster' of a season for Sunderland, who despite pre-season optimism looked in relegation trouble shortly before Christmas. They have improved considerably since then and their win over Portsmouth came at the end of a fortnight period in which they had played well across three games but twice dropped points by conceding late penalties. Reay says the Portsmouth win was massive in boosting confidence ahead of this weekend as a result.
"I think the performance was massive against Portsmouth," Reay said.
"We found ourselves in a position where we needed to pull away from them in terms of the nine points difference if we won the game and I think we had to take the positives from the performances previously that they were good, we just hadn't really got over the line with the two penalties at the death. It was a huge game and it was a really positive performance. I was really pleased with how comfortable we looked on the ball, how many chances we created.
"It was comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time because the closing stages of the game they were obviously throwing the kitchen sink at us. In those dying moments we did stand strong and that was lessons learned from previous games. It's obviously a big game, the shackles are off for us a little bit because we know we're okay, but we want to be higher up the table so we'll be giving everything to try and win the game."
Brianna Westrup gives dressing room view on Newcastle United clash
Sunderland defender Brianna Westrup believes the win would be an important psychological boost for the team heading into the rest of the campaign and next season.
A previous title winner with Rangers, Westrup believes the derby contests can be crucial in the development of the women's game.
"I think even in the times when we've played Newcastle, you feel the buzz, you feel the gravity of the game, you feel how much it means to people," Westrup said.
"And it means a lot to the girls in both teams. You have some girls in each team that are fans of the club that they're playing for. Personally, I've been up in Scotland for the Rangers v Celtic Old Firm, and it's very similar in the sense, especially the girls I was playing for Rangers who were big Rangers fans, and they really tell you how much it means to the city.
"And same with the we've got to go to some men's games for that. It's the type of atmosphere that you want to be a part of, and I just hope that the women's game is getting more and more in that direction. Hopefully, it continues to be a big deal and be a source of pride for the area in general, not just the men's side, but also the women's side.
"I think it would be a big highlight of the season for us to finally get that first win," Westrup said.
"Obviously, we have beaten Newcastle before but they haven't been in our league at the time so it is a little bit different. But yeah, I think that would be massive for the group. And sometimes you feel like you just need that first win to believe that it's possible to do it instead of always just getting there and falling short. Like I say, when I was in Scotland, Celtic was that team for us one season. We couldn't beat them.
"And it felt like that was the team we just couldn't get over that hump. And then my second season, we ended up doing it and we won the league that year - it felt like a big factor. Obviously, that won't be the same case here but I think it's something that hopefully if we can get a good result, then that's something we can take into the following season, pending what Newcastle do for the rest of their season."
Sunderland face Newcastle United Women at the Stadium of Light on Sunday, March 29th (kick off 2pm). Tickets are still available.
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