Wow. Where to begin.
The 11th of October saw Durham University's Women Football Club take on their first trio of games of the 2023/2024 season. Our first and third team hosted at our home ground Maiden Castle to St Andrews 1s and Newcastle 2s , whilst the second team travelled to Sunderland in what would end up becoming a goal-fest for both teams involved.
Alongside our first team captain Emma Wallis, we had Jess Fuller (3rd team captain) and Charlotte Kingsbury (2nd team captain) making their 2023/24 season starts. All three of our captains have been illustrating superb leadership skills in the build up to their first games, and have been acting as great role models for our newest additions. Both starting squads saw said new additions making their debut, and it was nice to see the new dynamics shaping up on the pitch.
Accompanying the squads in their respective games were coaches Chris (First Team), John (Second Team) and Freddie and Oli (Third Team). With all coaches looking for that BUCS Wednesday win, it was now up to the girls to put the shift in and showcase their skills on the pitch!
So, here it is. One win, one draw, and one loss. Three match reports, three different stories.
To start is Jess Fullers side, and their game against Newcastle 2s.
Newcastle 2s (H)
In a promising league encounter, Durham University Women's 3s displayed both resilience and potential as they faced off against Newcastle 2s.
The team, comprised of numerous fresh faces, embarked on the season with a renewed spirit. This was bolstered by the addition of Oli to their staff alongside Freddie, injecting new ideas and aspirations for the upcoming campaign.
The match kicked off with Durham settling into their own half, carefully studying Newcastle's tactics and thwarting their attempts early on. A breakthrough came in the 8th minute through a swift counter-attack by Emily Thomas, leading to a strike from Anna Meller that tested, but was kept out by the Newcastle keeper.
A pivotal moment unfolded in the 10th minute when Clara Oke, exhibiting class and agility, made a diving save, denying Newcastle a potential leader. The subsequent gameplay was marked by a steady and evenly matched contest, showcasing the defensive prowess of Durham's backline, consisting of Jess Fuller, Esme Gee, Bella Coetzee, and Bella Jarvis.
The 20th minute saw Newcastle capitalize on a numerical advantage in an attack, breaking the deadlock. Despite this setback, Durham continued to show promise, with Olivia Fairhurst creating a notable chance at the half-hour mark.
Rachel Young, a constant presence in the centre, worked tirelessly to navigate a congested Newcastle midfield, offering crucial options for her teammates. Emily Thomas, seamlessly integrated into the attacking line-up, provided consistent support to Anna Meller.
As the second half unfolded, new faces from DUWAFC graced the pitch, tirelessly working to breach Newcastle's solid defensive line. Despite their efforts, opportunities failed to materialise into goals.
The midfield trio of Isabel Cory, Rachel Young, and Helen Dooner exhibited a compact and solid performance, acting as a crucial bridge between the attackers and the backline. Their continuous and outstanding work rate made it challenging for Newcastle to break through and create goal-scoring chances.
The match concluded with a 1-0 victory for Newcastle, but Durham remains undeterred. Eager to gain valuable lessons from this encounter, the team looks forward to channelling their enthusiasm into upcoming training sessions.
With their eyes set on the fixture where they visit Leeds 2's on October 18th, Durham University Women's 3's is poised to build on this experience and strive for success in the league.
-Jess Fuller
Sunderland 1s (A)
After a strong preseason, Durham University Women’s 2s were getting ready to face Sunderland 1s in the first game of the season. Two new faces joined the starting eleven, with Grace Clancy on the left wing and Brigid Ellard playing central defensive midfield.
The game was off to a solid start with Durham keeping the majority of possession. After a promising run down the left wing from fullback Izzy Priory, she struck the ball sweetly into the bottom right corner from outside of the box. This wonder strike from Priory saw Durham take the lead early on.
Durham 1-0 Sunderland.
Ella Richards scored goal number two from a lovely through ball from midfield and a cool finish from the striker. The team then started building momentum in the attacking half, exploiting the pockets between Sunderland’s defence. There were many close opportunities, notably from Grace Clancy, Liv Berry and Ella Richards.
Durham 2-0 Sunderland.
Unfortunately, from a through ball splitting Durham’s defence, Sunderland were in on goal and scored to make it 2-1. Nevertheless, the back line’s heads didn’t drop, and Erin Taylor’s solid performance as centre back managed to wrestle the attack off the ball and regain possession on numerous occasions.
Durham 2-1 Sunderland.
About 20 minutes in, Ciara Byrne’s hard work won Durham a freekick just outside of the box. None other than Ella Richards rose to the occasion, striking the ball perfectly and burying it in the top right corner of the goal. With Ella Richards on great form, there was undoubtedly a potential hattrick on the cards for the 2s striker.
Durham 3-1 Sunderland.
Izzy Miller’s theatrical fall on the pitch was not enough to distract right winger Liv Berry who was next on the score sheet. She cleverly intercepted a pass and made the most of her pace down the right wing. Dancing through Sunderland's back four, Liv Berry finished off her run with a clean strike past the keeper and into the bottom corner. Absolutely class from our right wing.
Durham 4-1 Sunderland.
Durham were unlucky to concede another goal just before the end of the first half, making the score line: Durham 4 -2 Sunderland.
After an informative team talk at halftime, the girls were eager to go again in the second half. Sunderland scored a third goal early on, but that close score line didn’t last long. Ella Richards pressed the ball high and shot on a tight angle, getting her impressive hattrick. Durham 5 : 3 Sunderland.
Despite the nearing score line, Durham were playing very good football, with clever movement off the ball, particularly from Rose Newman and Emily Baker, and quick passes being impossible to defend. Durham were exceptional at keeping their heads, flawlessly utilising that winning mentality in order to get the edge over Sunderland.
Esther Evans was next to get on the scoresheet. After only a couple of minutes on the pitch, she turned quickly off her marker as she received the ball on the left wing, and dribbled past their centre back before scoring in the bottom right corner on yet another tight angle.
Durham 6 : 3 Sunderland.
In the last five minutes of the match, Sunderland scored from an indirect free kick and Durham went down to ten players due to injuries. However, the team managed to stay compact and calmly see out the rest of the game.
Durham 6 : 4 Sunderland.
The team can take lots of positives from this 6-4 win, as well as things to work on in training, in preparation for their next match against Newcastle Women’s 1s (18th October, A).
- Charlotte Kingsbury
St Andrews 1s (H)
After securing a 3-1 win against Loughborough last week, St Andrews were brimming with confidence ahead of their game against Durham. As a newly promoted side, St Andrews were eager to demonstrate why they should be in the Northern premiership.
The game started at an incredibly fast pace, with the ball travelling end to end, and after only moments of play, Durham were forced into defending a first St Andrews attack. However, on an equally quick counter, Vicky Neuefeind drove down the wing into the box forcing the St Andrew keeper into a good low save. Durham weren't going to let the pace of St Andrews distract them from their game - plan, so instead adapted brilliantly to their style of play.
A loose ball picked up in the middle by Emma Wallis was fed into Vicky on the left who’s brilliant first touch and shot forced the keeper into another good save. A scramble in the box eventually led to a reaction volley fired just over the bar from Wallis who joined in the attack.
Another chance fell to Durham in the 26th min where Faye Dale received the ball from a deep free kick on the edge of the box testing the keeper long range. Unfortunately no Durham players were there to follow up the rebound, thus allowing the St Andrews keeper to regain control.
St Andrews first real chance came from a corner in the 33rd min where an unmarked St Andrews player had a free header at the back post heading it just wide. These teams were still neck and neck, with both teams having everything to play for.
The deadlock was broken in the 36th min where Sophie Centi picked out Vicky on the left wing who pulled of a lovely bit of skill to chop back on the inside to shoot on her right foot looping it over the St Andrews keeper. Again, Neuefeind demonstrating absolute class on the left wing, adding her name to the scoresheet yet again.
Durham 1 - 0 St Andrews.
Half time Durham 1-0 up.
The first minute of the second half saw good link up play with Niamh Doody, Neufeind and Wallis down the left, with the same being illustrated on the right hand side by Faye Dale and Becky Lovelace. Durham were exhibiting amazing passages of play, dominating the first ten minutes of the second half.
Against the momentum, St Andrews equalised in the 56th minute from Durham getting dispossessed after a throw in. The St Andrews player skilfully dribbled through a gap in defence, slotting the ball into the back of the Durham net.
Durham 1-1 St Andrews.
Shortly after the restart, St Andrews maintained momentum, winning a freekick near the corner of the box that led to Anna king making a good save to deny a quick second. Vital shifts were also put in by Erin Brown and Bella Hosking at the back to keep Durham levelled.
Play continued to be end to end where Durham had many final third entries. However, none of these chances resulted in another Durham goal. St Andrews also started to level up their game, forcing Anna King into making another good save in the 70th minute from a shot inside the box, and one shortly after from wide free kick. St Andrews determined to remind Durham that this game could be theirs.
In the last 10 minutes, Durham really pushed for a winning goal. Faye and Niamh linked up again nicely but Dales ambitious shot from a tight angle at the byline hit the outside side netting. Pip Evans also had a chance off the bench coming from great work by Erin Brown and Faye, but the shot was saved by the St Andrews keeper.
What felt like a winning goal in the last 3 minutes for Durham came from Faye Dale scoring from a good low strike from the end of the box. Durham were close to securing their hard earned win.
Durham 2-1 St Andrews.
Disappointment hit in the last 10 seconds of the game where a high St Andrews press won the ball back off Anna King, leading to an easy slot in for a 2-2 equaliser.
Full time Durham 2-2 St Andrews.
Durham will be frustrated and disappointed to share the points ,but look to improve in time for their next fixture which is Loughborough away 18/10/23 2pm KO.
Durham - King, Wallis, Hosking, Brown, Jackson, Centi, Boardman, Doody, Lovelace (Evans, 82’), Neuefeind (Kuzmanovski, 75’), Dale.
Unused subs - Harrison, Hughes
-Emma Wallis
After a mixed bag of scores, all three Durham teams will be looking to improve for this coming Wednesday.

[Our Second team after their win against Sunderland]
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