Motorists stuck in the slow traffic crawling towards central Sunderland from the A19 on Sunday lunchtime were confronted by flashing electronic roadside signage. It conveyed a single message: ‘Ha’way the Lasses’. A couple of miles further on, the Stadium of Light was hosting the first Women’s Championship Wear-Tyne derby between Sunderland and Newcastle and it seemed tickets priced at £12 for adults and £6 for under-16s had proved quite a draw.
A crowd of 15,387 were in attendance, comfortably eclipsing the 11,137 that turned out to watch Sheffield United take on London City Lionesses two years ago, making it the largest ever attendance at a Women’s Championship game. When, midway through the first half, Newcastle’s wonderfully two-footed Beth Lumsden swivelled away from Jessica Brown and evaded the reach of the helpless home goalkeeper, Demi Lambourne, courtesy of a rising, angled shot, the majority home contingent fell silent.
