NEWS
Season Ends with a Win! . . . Sunderland 2-0 Preston North End
4th May
Sunderland Ladies completed their fixtures with a home victory over 5th placed Preston at Houghton-le-Spring today. In a lacklustre game of few chances, the Wearsiders came out on top thanks to two second half strikes from Natalie Gutteridge.
Early efforts from Steph O’Brien and Gutteridge were followed by Elisha Fry’s volley which flew just over. The visitors almost took the lead when Sarah Berry went clear only to be denied by a great tackle from Gemma Wilson in what proved to be the last action of the first half.
HT… Sunderland WFC 0 vs 0 Preston N.E. WFC
Both teams upped the tempo in the second half and Abby Holmes was unlucky to see her shot strike the woodwork following a mazy run into the Preston penalty area. A left wing corner for Sunderland was driven low into the box and was somehow missed by everyone as players queued up to score.
Early efforts from Steph O’Brien and Gutteridge were followed by Elisha Fry’s volley which flew just over. The visitors almost took the lead when Sarah Berry went clear only to be denied by a great tackle from Gemma Wilson in what proved to be the last action of the first half.
HT… Sunderland WFC 0 vs 0 Preston N.E. WFC
Both teams upped the tempo in the second half and Abby Holmes was unlucky to see her shot strike the woodwork following a mazy run into the Preston penalty area. A left wing corner for Sunderland was driven low into the box and was somehow missed by everyone as players queued up to score.
The deadlock was finally broken after 71 minutes when a Nicola Devine corner was met by Steph Bannon who brought a great save from visiting keeper Jenny Horrocks but Gutteridge was on hand to score from the rebound. Further attempts by Lucy Bronze and Sarah Danby were beaten out before Demi Stokes’ last ditch tackle on the edge of the area prevented a goal scoring opportunity for Preston. The visitors were pushing hard for an equaliser but rarely troubled home keeper Helen Alderson. Sunderland secured the points when deep into injury time Jade Clark broke down the right and hit an inch perfect cross for Gutteridge to powerfully head home.
FT… Sunderland WFC 2 vs 0 Preston N.E. WFC
Sunderland…Alderson, Clark, Wilson, Bannon, Holmes, O’Brien(Stokes), Fry(Lee), Bronze, Devine, Danby, Gutteridge.
This season has been a great learning experience for Sunderland's young team - the oldest player yesterday was only 19 years old. They matched the best the league had to offer and but for an indifferent start to the campaign would surely have mounted a serious promotion push. If this team can remain together then with a few quality additions the future is bright indeed.
FT… Sunderland WFC 2 vs 0 Preston N.E. WFC
Sunderland…Alderson, Clark, Wilson, Bannon, Holmes, O’Brien(Stokes), Fry(Lee), Bronze, Devine, Danby, Gutteridge.
This season has been a great learning experience for Sunderland's young team - the oldest player yesterday was only 19 years old. They matched the best the league had to offer and but for an indifferent start to the campaign would surely have mounted a serious promotion push. If this team can remain together then with a few quality additions the future is bright indeed.
