Durham fail to go top of the league following derby defeat 

 

​Sunderland claimed a 2-1 win against high-flying Durham in the Women’s Championship at a bustling Maiden Castle. Large numbers of supporters had come down for the River Wear derby, and a win would have sent the Wildcats to the top of the table.

Durham took hold of the game by the scruff of the neck from kick-off. One of the new forward line, Carly Johns, stormed onto Mollie Lambert’s cutback in the fourth minute, only to place her shot wide of the target. Club captain Sarah Wilson got onto a deep free kick and looped an effort towards the Sunderland goal with her instep. Sunderland keeper Demi Lambourne was lucky to see it drop wide.

New international signing Hannah Blake hit the back of the net to put the home side in front in the tenth minute. Slick buildup play saw a layoff perfectly set for the Kiwi, and her goal-bound strike took a small nick on the way through.

From then on, Durham took their foot off the gas. Wilson had to scramble a shot off the line from a Sunderland break, and Sunderland continued to create promising chances – except for one Johns effort saved low to the keeper’s right.

In the 33rd minute, the equaliser came from the spot. Eleanor Dale tucked the chance away, but the home fans were livid at the seeming innocuousness of the incident that led the referee to blow the whistle for a penalty. 

After half time, Black Cats’ winger Mary McAteer took her time to bury a finish past Tatiana Saunders from another cutback. The tables turned as Wilson saw her own effort cleared off the line only three minutes after. Durham huffed and puffed but did not create many more goalscoring opportunities, despite their elevated position over Sunderland in the league table. 

The win will be a huge confidence boost to a struggling Sunderland side: they’ll take heart that they can avoid the drop. Durham will see this as a huge missed opportunity.