By Texi Smith (23/9/26)
Above: Martha Thomas celebrating her second goal vs Sheffield United Photo: Newcastle United FC.
An action-packed Sunday afternoon of top-quality WSL2 action saw Newcastle United Women leap to the top of the table in style at a breezy Gateshead International Stadium.
An expectant and jovial Geordie crowd roared on their favourites, who were coasting through early goals from Beth Lumsden and Aussie import Kaitlyn Torpey, but watched on in horror as a freak goal from Lucy Quinn had Sheffield United back in the game at half-time.
Two quick goals from Martha Thomas after the break gave Newcastle the footing to go on and fill their boots, but a combination of wayward finishing and unforgiving referee calls prevented them from adding to the agony for the increasingly angry and agitated visitors.
The prospect of watching football in a stadium boasting an internationally recognised running track was not a positive notion, despite the success of South Melbourne and West Ham United in overcoming the tyranny of distance from the stands to the playing surface.
The GIS boasts one main stand, thankfully facing away from the sun, split into North and South sections. The technical areas for the coaches and substitutes brought onto the same side today due to the strong wind.
We had a healthy crowd, the expert pitch-side announcer created a superb atmosphere and explained the tribute planned for the anniversary of WSL legend Matt Beard’s passing due for the 13th minute before the upbeat music whipped up the crowd.
A mix of AC/DC’s Thunderstruck and the Toon Toon Black and White Army chant was a marvellous concoction, and the familiar Blaydon Races, Hey Jude and Local Hero welcomed the players to the field and accompanied the handshakes and coin toss.
Flags provided by the Wor Flags operation were waved furiously by fans young and old, the barriers surrounding the long-jump sandpits of this athletics stadium were adorned with flags bearing Howay the Lasses, while the club’s energy drink sponsor handed out samples of their juicy products to the crowd.
First though, a tribute to Sheffield United’s Maddy Cusack, a minute’s applause enthusiastically delivered by the upstanding crowd, and then we were ready for the action. The Sip and Support movement allowed fans to grab their cans and drink their alcohol responsibly in view of the field.
The Tyneside crowd had plenty of vocal members throwing their voices to the cause as the chants were familiar to anyone who had been to a men’s game at the cathedral on the hill on the other side of the river, mixed in with a selection of witty and humorous songs for the players on view today.
The opening exchanges were even, Beth Lumsden not afraid to drop deep to receive the ball, Rachel McLauchlan having to race back to foil a Sheffield United attack and Martha Thomas producing a crunching tackle to get the home fans in the mood.
The stirring minute’s applause on the 13th minute had a quirky moment as Newcastle goalkeeper Anna Tamminen made the first save of the game, the applause intensifying for a moment to acknowledge the stop.
Moments later, the home team took the lead, a patient approach from Martha Thomas and a sweet turn by Lumsden, her stunning left-foot shot giving Sian Rogers no chance.
Mollie Lambert continued the forward momentum on the left, and a quickfire second followed, Torpey somehow ending up inside the penalty area with a low side-footed shot that rolled inside the post in slow motion.
Amy Andrews advanced to curl a shot around the post as Sheffield United responded, but this was all Newcastle, Thomas screwing a shot wide when well-placed, and Charlie Devlin displaying her anger to the referee, the visiting player receiving a stern talking to.
Goalkeeper Rogers miskicked a spinning deflected shot to concede a needless corner – nothing was going right – and trickery from Thomas set up Lois Joel for a rasping shot that just cleared the bar.
Just when we were wondering how many Newcastle might score before the break, the unthinkable happened – a routine back pass saw Tamminen hesitate and Quinn reacted to close down the ball, the goalkeeper only able to drill the clearance into the Sheffield United attacker’s legs, the ball rolling into the unguarded net.
Silence and disbelief in the crowd and on the field, and as suddenly we had a game on our hands.
Torpey tried to shepherd out a ball for a goal kick and managed to touch it on the way out, Andrews got to the byline to pull back for Devlin to fire into the side netting, and an equalising goal was suddenly a possibility.
The score remained until the break, however, Joel and Thomas the standout performers for the home team while Andrews troubled the defence with her obvious pace.
Newcastle allayed the fears of their fans with a dramatic opening to the second half.
A mistake allowed Torpey to jink to the byline and deliver a fantastic cross, Thomas rising highest to power home a header to restore the two-goal advantage only seconds after the restart.
Moments later, Thomas raced into the box and pulled the ball back for Kathleen MacGovern, but she fluffed her lines, and the home team were purring.
Thomas treated the crowd to a beautiful nutmeg before Lumsden wowed the crowd with a cheeky flick to beat her player to race away from the defence; her touch was strong but she had the wherewithal to slide in before goalkeeper Rogers could react, touching the ball inside for Thomas to tap home her second goal and Newcastle’s fourth.
Aoife Mannion’s meaty challenge stopped Sheffield United’s Tilly Bristow when she threatened to weave through the whole defence on her own, and the defence was stretched again when the pacy Andrews was played in cleverly by Sophie Harwood and fired in a shot that bounced off the post.
There was life in the visitors yet.
Jordan Nobbs came on to huge cheers and immediately fired a volley just wide, but this was a good spell for Sheffield United, Tamminen again with a nervy moment, this time getting away with it.
When Thomas was strangely asked to leave the field after a head knock, there was confusion on the sideline, and Bristow then bemoaned the referee when she felt impeded in the box by Tamminen’s stretch.
Substitute Leanne Kiernan then broke clean through for Newcastle, looking way offside, and she shaped to shoot before getting it all wrong, tumbling to the floor.
The undeniable pace of Andrews continued to be a thorn in the home defence, and she powered in a shot that Tamminen tipped over for a corner.
By now the result was beyond doubt, but there was still plenty of action, Mollie Rouse into the book for a shirt pull in front of the referee, and Thomas had a chance for a hat-trick but decided to cut in instead of taking the shot on the run, and curling effort clearing the far post.
Following a good chance from a corner that Hildur Antonsdottir maybe could have connected with, a deflected shot from substitute Freya Gregory, the final goalmouth action saw Gregory finish at the far post into an unguarded net, but with goalkeeper Rogers already prone on the turf following a collision, it was no surprise that the referee disallowed the goal.
The final score of 4-1 was reflective of the domination of the home team today, but there were periods when their control went missing; Sheffield United were no pushovers.
The time-honoured worldwide tradition of women’s games ending with a meet and greet with the fans was respected, families, partners and fans all able to meet their heroes and congratulate them on an impressive home win.
There was no rush to leave the stadium, the numerous flags scattered through the main stand were collected by the home fans and deposited at the front and the staggered departure of the crowd made for an easy exit, retracing the steps along the sun-drenched St James’ Boulevard to the Metro with a handful of happy Newcastle United fans.
From a football perspective, what we’d seen today was a well-oiled Newcastle machine making a statement.
The skills of Lois Joel and Martha Thomas were crowd-pleasing, the Newcastle defence was solid and relaxed, and a goal and an assist by Kaitlyn Torpey justified the Aussie Aussie Aussie chant from the delighted main stand.
Looking at this from a fan’s perspective, it was a perfect family day out; the all-encompassing mix of supporters, many of those with the names and numbers of their female heroes on their shirts, everyone willing to join in with the songsheet, made a fabulous atmosphere.
Beers in your seat, a kiosk selling pulled pork rolls, free energy drinks for all, along with dancing magpie mascots, flag waving and player interaction, this was a strong reason for more fans to make Gateshead International Stadium a go-to weekend day out.
Newcastle United are on a roll; the juggernaut is only just in second gear; this will be a powerhouse before we know it.
Lineups: Newcastle: Tamminen, Purfield, McGovern, Lambert, Thomas, Torpey, Bradley, Joel, Mannion, Lumsden, McLauchlan. SUBS: Rendell, Wardlaw, Nobbs, Gregory, Nemeth, Antonsdottir, Sevenus, Evans, Kiernan
Sheffield United: Rogers, Cowan, Kinzett, Pearse, Andrews, Devlin, Houssein, Quinn, O’Rourke, Harwood, Reavill. SUBS: Soper, Baker, Bristow, Scofield, Rouse, Jones.
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