Newcastle United Women kicked off their 2025/26 Women’s Super League 2 season in some style on Sunday.
A 2-1 away win kick-started the pre-season promotion favourites to three points on the road as they defeated hosts Nottingham Forest.
Manager Becky Langley has had an extremely busy summer in preparing her new-look squad for the expectant season ahead. No fewer than ten new players have been added to the ranks go looking for a trip to the promised land of The WSL.
It made it all the more intriguing to see how many of those ten would make Langley’s first starting XI of the campaign as well as those who made the bench.
In the end there were three competitive debuts and of the four newbies named as substitutes one made it onto the field during a 90 minutes that was a tough hard-fought encounter from two well-coached well-drilled sides.
A slight puzzle for Newcastle fans was despite having four goal keepers on the books none of the three not selected to start made it onto the substitutes list despite United naming only eight of their nine permitted.
Last season’s No.1 Claudia Moan retaining the jersey at least for the first game alongside debutants Aoife Mannion in defence and Morgan Gautrat and Molly Pike in midfield in a side captained by Deanna Cooper.
It was also good to see Emma Kelly back in the starting XI and in the centre of midfield following her full recovery that kept her out for a long part of last season’s matches.
Forest were one of the side’s promoted last season to the WSL2 at the end of last season and had undergone a huge transformation themselves bringing in 15 new players to the City Ground for their tilt at glory.
United opened in style. From the first whistle they had Forest on the back foot as they pressed forward at every opportunity and looked very lively and bright and took the lead with barely 7 minutes on the clock.
It came from a Beth Lumsden corner. The wide player delivering a wicked ball inside the six-yard box that saw Northern Ireland international Emily Murphy rise highest to flick the ball into the empty net with Forest keeper Emily Batty not at the races.
A dream start then for Langley’s Lasses who looked confident and sharp. It was almost two-nil on 25 minutes when Kelly unleashed a thunderbolt of a right-foot shot from the edge of the box only to see it crash down and out off danger off the underside of the bar.
But it was only a temporary reprieve for the home side as United did double their lead on 27 minutes. Great work and fancy footwork from Freya Godfrey on the left-hand touchline allowed her to release Shania Hayles who drove into the box.
As she bore down on Batty it seemed as she was going to pull the trigger but instead spotted Pike ghosting in unmarked at the back post. Hayles looking up and squaring the perfect ball across to Pike who had and completed the simple task of tapping it home.
The closest Forest came in the first 45 minutes to reducing the deficit came on 41 minutes when Amy Rodgers smashed an effort goal wards but Cooper bravely put her head in the way to make a colossal block and retain United’s two-goal lead at the break.
It didn’t take long for Nottingham to get back in the game as the second 45 kicked off. Within six minutes of the restart, it was Kirsty Smith who somehow bundled a delivered corner home from very close range to half the deficit.
United keeper Moan was incensed and lead United’s protests that an infringement had occurred. The referee waving away the protests to allow the goal whilst brandishing a yellow card to Moan for her protestations.
It was game-on now. Langley brought on Jas McQuade and Lois Joel for Kelly and Pike in an attempt to inject some energy and verve into her side’s cause. McQuade being upended right on the edge of the Notts box on the 67th minute.
Lumsden hitting the free-kick sweetly and beyond the wall but Batty read the effort well and was able to make the save look very easy indeed. Gregory and Hayles were then withdrawn with Club Captain Demi Stokes and debutant Oona Sevenius coming on.
It was McQuade at the other end that was influential for her team stopping a great run by Vivienne Lia inside the United box with a well timed challenge just as the Forest winger looked like pulling the trigger.
In truth though despite Forest having more possession and territorial advantage the United defence superbly marshalled by Cooper were not allowing a way through to Moan’s goal and were comfortably on top of the Nottingham attackers.
A great example of this coming when my Player of the Match for United Charlotte Wardlaw made a superbly timed sliding challenge and clearance when Nahikari García a recent Forest signing from Denver Summit looked like she was through on goal.
The Lady Mags made one final substitution with Lia Cataldo coming on to replace Lumsden with four minutes of normal time and the defender helped her side retain their lead despite five minutes of additional injury time.
So, an excellent three points for NUFC Women and a great start to their new campaign. Next Sunday, 14th September, Wor Lasses will welcome Sheffield United Women into Gateshead International Stadium as they open their home League season
