Newcastle United Women opened their third regular season fixture with a convincing 4-1 win over Sheffield United at home on Saturday afternoon. The result keeps them unbeaten through two games in the Women's Championship, while Sheffield United's winless run extends to four matches across all competitions. By then you could see where this one was heading.
The hosts went ahead inside fifteen minutes when B. Lumsden found the net, and made it two just three minutes later through K. Torpey. Sheffield United had barely adjusted to the pace before L. Quinn added a third in the thirty-second minute. The opening twenty minutes told you everything about Newcastle's intent.
M. Thomas came on at half-time and immediately changed the game. She scored in the forty-sixth minute, less than a minute after touching the ball, then added another in the fifty-third. And here's the thing — you don't make that kind of impact without wanting the result badly.
Our prediction of a Newcastle victory came through, and the confidence was justified by the first twenty minutes. They camped in the final third and Sheffield United simply could not settle. The hosts were dominant in the air from set plays, something that showed through in the early goals.
Sheffield United made five substitutions in the sixty-eighth minute, bringing on K. McGovern, M. Lambert, L. Joel, C. Devlin and S. O'Rourke in quick succession. M. Rouse picked up a yellow card in the seventy-eighth minute as frustration mounted. Newcastle brought on B. Lumsden, M. Thomas and L. Cowan to see out the result.
Newcastle sit fourth with six points from two games, while Sheffield United remain at the bottom with none. The hosts have won both matches so far, following victories over Bristol City and Wolverhampton, while Sheffield have lost to Wolves, Leicester, Bristol City and Ipswich Town. To be fair, the gap in quality showed through on the scoreboard.
