Durham WFC 3-1 NUWFC, 16 March 2025

There was more than one match on Sunday, you know, and Mark was on hand for us, as always.

Durham WFC v NUWFC – Barclay’s Women’s Championship

DWFC 3 – 1 NUWFC (3 - 1 HT)

Att: 1,435

PoTM: Emily Murphy

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This match was my third away trip of the season, with the short hop down the A19 from North Shields being very handy, as was the 12 noon kick off as a certain other match kicked off later that afternoon and it made it much easier to get back to watch NUFC’s bid for immortality (that’s the big shiny cup shaped ‘elephant in the room’ addressed).

Durham WFC have been members of the Championship since their inauguration in 2014 and, along with London City, are the only teams in the top two tiers of women’s football that aren’t affiliated to a men’s team. They play at Maiden Castle (where NUFC used to train under Keegan) and are managed by Adam Furness. They were owned by Durham University until recently bought by Euro Millions winners the Connollys, who have ambitions for not only football but women’s cricket too.

This season the Wildcats are currently fourth - P15 W8 D2 L5 with 26 points, 3 more that the Lasses - P13 W6 D5 L2. We lost 0-1 to them at KP earlier in the season after the classic ‘batter the opposition, their keeper plays a blinder, and we get hit on the break’. They brought the most away fans to KP so far this season and we certainly turned up in numbers.

Amy Andrews our #17 was Durham’s top scorer last season and Millie Lambert for Durham started her career with NUWFC back in 2016 (and scored the winner against us). Hannah Greenwood and Hannah Hawkins are former Durham players and Poppy Pritchard (still injured unfortunately) played for Durham before Man City bought her (and loaned her to us). So a few links between the teams.

Newcastle lined up with Moan in goal, Stokes, Cooper, Cataldo and Wardlaw in defence, Greenwood, Stobbs (C), Gregory and Lumsden in midfield and Joel just behind Murphy in attack.

Maiden Castle is in a lovely setting surrounded by wooded hills just off the banks of the river; however, as a place to watch football as a paying (£12!) spectator, it’s terrible. The tiny stand sits a couple of hundred (?), while the rest is standing literally on the touchline. I’ve watched Sunday league games with a better view. I’m 6’4” and had no chance of seeing what was happening at the other end of the pitch from near the dugouts, kids were having to stand on chairs to watch (and apparently being stopped by stewards).

The game started with a minute’s applause for the poor lass killed by a car at a match last week, putting the following result firmly in context.

It was in the seventh minute that Murphy, PoTM, got her first goal for the Lasses, a header, from a beautiful cross by Lumsden, who was also in contention for my PoTM. After that it all went downhill quickly for the Lasses. A midfield mix-up gave Durham possession and Claypole headed past Moan. Not for the first time this season the Lasses mistakes have ‘given’ the opposition a goal. A minute later Claypole notched again and Durham took a two goal lead in the 30th minute via Hepple’s curler.

The Durham players decided to celebrate right in front of the away fans - intentional? I’m sure they’ll say spur of the moment.

Cooper headed against the foot of the post to nearly cut the lead, but the first half ended 3-1 to Durham. The Newcastle subs warmed up by the away fans and went through their drills including a seeming version of the ‘Strip the Willow’ dance! A lot of our fans left the ground at half time, not through annoyance at the match, but to get a better view on an embankment next to the river ‘£15 quid and you can’t even see’ was muttered by more than one of the Lasses faithful.

The second half started with Furness on instead of Stobbs, evidently to combat Durham’s, shall we say ‘physical’ approach to the match. You don’t want to mess with Furney. Charlotte Potts (still injured, since the Southampton home game) would have been up for the challenge as well. I’m not saying our lasses weren’t, but the Wildcats’ 11 years of Championship experience was telling. Their physical approach continued, but it was Lumsden who was booked for a tackle that put one of their players into the hoardings; exactly the same happened to her but her tackler wasn’t booked.

Whilst we’re on the subject of refs, I’ve been watching football at all levels for decades, yet I’ve never seen a ref stop a match when one team (the Lasses) were attacking because one of the opposing team’s players was down with cramp! Unbelievable. Standing near the dugouts you could hear our management team and they were not happy, shall we say… There was also at least a five-minute pause in the game, for reasons unknown at the time (more on that later).

The Lasses kept creating chances but couldn’t get a goal. Hayles, McQuade and Andrews were all sent on, but to no avail and despite 10 minutes of extra time the score remained the same. Durham players celebrated like they’d just beaten Chelsea. To me it seems that they see it as more of a derby than we do (a bit like Middlesborough in the men’s game). A couple of our players had games to forget (I don’t call out players in these reports, they’ll know they were poor) and some of the Lasses were in tears at the end.

It turns out the delay was due to a fan behind the Durham goal in the second half (a Liverpool fan with Tourettes) who shouted something that a Durham player heard and swore back at them. The ref heard and had a red card in her hand then changed her mind and spoke to both the managers.

Again, the stewards should have sorted it out (apparently the fan shouting apologised and it all calmed down); however one of the Durham ‘hard lasses’ fans decided to stand right behind the away fans and screamed at them when Durham scored. It being a women’s game and different attitudes prevailing (apart from her), she wasn’t ‘addressed’ by our fans and wandered off having boosted her own little ego. Stewards did nothing (too busy checking kids weren’t standing on chairs no doubt).

Hopefully this result will spur on a performance for the real derby at SJP next match.

As ever Howay the Lasses, and the Cup wining Lads (you know I wasn’t not going to mention it don’t you!).

Mark Stutt

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