It is now over a calendar year since NUFC Women tasted defeat. That was a FA Cup tie against Wolverhampton Wanders at Kingston Park on the 11th December 2022. Somehow The Lasses lost that game 5 – 1. They’ve come a long way since then.
They’ve now played 28 games since and just continue to sweep all before them. Sunday’s 5 – 0 demolition of Stoke City, a more than decent side in the same division as United, the latest emphatic effort and result.
This is turning out to be a glorious season so far for the NUFC Women’s side but, so far is probably the watchword although in all honesty it’s hard to see how and when this dream is going to end.
At ‘home’ in Gateshead’s International Stadium, Wor Lasses perhaps put in their most clinically professional performance of the campaign thus far. A 3rd round Adobe FA Women’s Cup tie that could have proved tricky was anything but.
Now the reward is huge! An away tie against Women’s Super League powerhouse Manchester United. An absolute plum tie and a dream come true for so many at Newcastle United Women. A chance to test themselves against the very best.
That will be some occasion as the competition reaches the last 32 stage with the prospect of further glory to come. But that’s for another day and another blog. Back to Sunday and once again from the off, The Lady Mags were at it.
Head Coach Becky Langley made two changes from the side that had beaten WBA in the league seven days earlier. Swapping Tyler Dodds and Kacie Elson for Becky Ferguson and Katie Barker down the flanks. It was a bold move but one that paid off.
Ferguson almost opened the scoring inside the first ten minutes with a lovely drive from just inside the box that beat Liz Hobson in the Stoke goal but was inches over the bar.
Then from an Elysia Boddy corner, Charlotte Potts got in a great header that looked goal bound until a brilliant acrobatic diving header from Roisin Kivel on the goal line kept the score sheet blank. It felt though that it was only a matter of time.
And so it proved as with 22 minutes on the clock, United swept into the lead and what a goal it was showing that even the defenders in this team are really comfortable on the ball as well as the rest of the outfield players.
United were denied as they tried to break through on their left. Stoke clearing the ball almost to the half-way line where it was picked up by Potts. She played a superlative ball with the outside of her right boot to split the defence and free Olivia Watt.
Watt one of the three at the back with Potts and skipper Amber-Keegan Stobbs took the ball in her stride burst into the left hand side of the box before squaring the ball across the six-yard box where Bridget Galloway met it first time and stabbed it on target.
Hobson almost made an incredible save as she blocked the effort but the ball spun away from her to roll over the line and register Galloway’s 12th goal of a highly productive season.
United went looking for more. Potts’ long ball from the back was brilliantly flicked on by Galloway to put Ferguson through one-on-one with the keeper. Ferguson’s 14-yard angled drive was aimed for the near post but Hobson dived full length to parry it away.
Georgia Gibson then had a spectacular effort ruled out for offside. A tight decision but probably the right one as she picked up Stobbs’ half-hit shot inside the area turned sharply and smashed it high into the net only to see the Assistant’s flag go up.
Stoke did create one chance just before the half time break when the ball fell nicely for Danielle Puddefoot about 25 yards from Watts’ clearing header. Puddefoot’s unerring drive saw Newcastle’s keeper Grace Donnelly dive full length and punch the ball away to safety.
Was it a warning that one goal might not be enough? Perhaps but that was to be decided in the second half as United left the field a goal to the good thanks to Galloway’s effort.
With these girls now full-time professionals and training virtually every day the second 45 minutes can often prove to be a disconcerting one for their opposition. Sunday was another example of the sharpness and fitness that extra training gives United.
The second goal came on 53 minutes and was created by the excellent Barker. She disposed Lucia Molinari 40 yards from goal and then attacked the visitors box gliding past the defence as she raced into the box towards the by-line.
As she drew level with the six-yard line she looked up and pulled a delightful left-foot cross into the six-yard box where the predatory Galloway needed no second invitation to sidefooted home from 5 yards out doubling her and United’s tally on the day.
Now it just felt like how many it was going to be as Newcastle were completely dominant. The third arriving on 65 minutes as provider turned poacher with Barker deservedly getting on the score sheet.
Ferguson’s long diagonal ball caught out Arabella Suttie who’s attempted headed clearance was picked up on the edge of the box by Galloway who controlled it well and rolled it across to Barker who was sprinting forward.
The United forward didn’t break stride as she took the ball on jinked inside the beleaguered Molinari and then from 12 yards out curled a superb effort past the helpless Hobson.
Langley took the opportunity to throw on some substitutions and her team didn’t miss a beat as they kept up their relentless pressing of a dazed opponent. Two of the substitutes combining to make it 4 – 0 on 83 minutes.
A long ball from Stobbs saw Anna Soulsby battle for possession in midfield before giving the ball to Boddy. Boddy sweeping a lovely ball wide right to Tyler Dodds who on the run crossed superbly to the far post.
Soulsby gambling on the cross had burst into the box and as the ball sailed over Hobson’s despairing hands she was perfectly placed to head powerfully into an empty net from inside the six-yard box.
Soulsby and United were not finished there. Three minutes later, the tenacious United sub had her second and United’s fifth. Stoke for some reason tried to play the ball out of defence with Hobson giving it to Kayleigh McDonald on the edge of the box.
She was immediately closed down by Soulsby who took the ball off her showing great strength to shrug off McDonald’s attempt to recover in fine style and then smash the ball home from eight yards.
It was also United’s 50th goal in all competitions this season in only 15 games and of course another clean sheet, their 11th of a campaign where they’ve only conceded 6.
It completed a rout and an excellent all-round team performance from a United side that are simply irresistible at the moment. Perhaps though one of my abiding memories of this performance is their absolute togetherness as a squad and their concentrated focus.
After every goal every outfield player came together to celebrate. Quick hugs and congratulations all round and then back into position for the re-start. They are such a well-drilled committed unit that are a pleasure to watch.
So, Manchester United await. A game that will be played on Sunday 14th January. That will be a real test for Langley’s squad but a great opportunity for the Club to see how far it has come and how far it still needs to go. A mouthwatering prospect indeed.
But, knowing everyone at Newcastle that game will be filed away for another day as they have one more league game to play before Christmas and the reality is the number one target is promotion to The Championship.
Wor Lasses will take to the Kingston Park field this coming Sunday for a 2:00pm kick-off in the Northern Premier League where they are top of the table against AFC Fylde. One more win on Sunday will make it a very happy Christmas indeed with so much to look forward to in the coming weeks and months.
