By Emily Wyatt 4/02/24
Above: Sheffield United, post-match vs Durham. Photo: Sportimage / Richard Lee
A very physical and competitive game in the Barclays Women’s Championship between two close sides unbelievably saw Sheffield come from behind and win 5-2 over Durham.
The match-up between these two sides was undoubtedly going to be a competitive tie after both teams had suffered losses in their previous games of the Barclays Women’s Championship last weekend, as well as it also being Sheffield’s first game since the sacking of their manager during the week. It would never be a question that both sides would want to come away with a secure win and get more points on the board.
The first half began with what looked like a very solid and secure Sheffield going forward. The side had multiple chances in the opening ten minutes, however they could not manage to find the back of the net. A few attempts from The Blades included a very early opportunity which ended up being cleared by Durham’s Salicki, the side went on to take another strike at goal which in the end went firing closely over the crossbar.
Despite the dominance from the visitors early in the game this didn’t intimidate Claire Ditchburn’s side and in the 19th minute The Blues’ number nine, Beth Hepple, went on to put the ball in the back of the net, settling both the team and the fans.
The side went on to have many more chances in the next ten minutes of the tie with The Blues’ Andrews making Sheffield’s number one work hard to pull off a huge save, declining the number nine to put away another goal in the back of the net. But the keeper could not hold the side off for too much longer as Durham’s number seven went on to score a second for the home side off the back of a corner.
However, despite the two-goal lead for The Blues in the first half an hour, the away side were still hungry for a breakthrough goal and that is what they eventually got after a powerful header from Tara Bourne in the 30th minute. After this, it was clear that Sheffield’s confidence was re-boosted as they went on to dominate the rest of the first half.
The Blades went on to claim a free kick, taken by their number nine. Despite a good save from Durhams’ McAloon, Sheffield received a penalty after a defending Durham gave away a foul in the box. Calmly, Rayner put away the opportunity securely which left both sides level at 2-2 going into the break.
HALF-TIME: Durham 2-2 Sheffield
Once the whistle blew to signify the beginning of the second half, the visitors were attacking instantly in the search for their third of the day. Only seconds later Sigsworth was celebrating her first goal, putting the home side behind for the first time in this game. Sheffield went on to dominate the game in the following moments, creating many chances and claiming corners waiting to put more chances in the back of the net.
Claire Ditchburn made a change in the 60th minute, bringing on Erin Nicholson for Olivia Bramley, hoping to regain control of the game and get themselves back into the battle.
However, only moments later, Durham’s McAloon gave a penalty away to the opposition after committing a foul when trying to pull out a save to prevent her team from going another goal behind. Undoubtedly, Sheffield’s number ten put an unsavable ball into the back of The Blues net, now putting them five to two in front.
Despite being behind by two goals the home side was not going to give up. More substitutions were made for the side with Ella Wilson, coming on for Grace Ayre while McAloon made a sensational save after going one on one with the opposition’s number ten.
No matter what they did, Sheffield did not come back down and went on to score another goal with Issy Goodwin making a small chip on the keeper.
In the end, it was a 5-2 win for Sheffield over Durham after a dominant comeback from being two goals behind in the fixture’s first opening moments. Claire Ditchburn’s blues will want to claim a win in two weeks where they will play away to London City Lionesses. She stated that “it was obviously a tough one to take” but the side had “a positive first half”.
Durham: McAloon, Briggs, Bramley, Robson, Hepple, Lambert (C), Andrews, Salicki,
Bradley, Ayre, Ryan-Doyle.
Substitutes: Saunders, E Wilson, Noonan, Nicholson.
Scorers: Andrews 10’ Hepple 19’
Sheffield United: Stenson, Newsham, Barker, Bourne, Sigsworth, Rayner,
Goodwin, Haywood, Kinzett, Brown, Connolly-Jackson
Substitutes: Davies, Docherty, Graham, Hodson, May, Wilcock, Muir,
A.Brown, Butler
Scorers: Bourne 25’, Goodwin 44’, 64’,90+5’, Sigsworth 46’
Attendance: TBC
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