There’s a terrace chant that goes up when a team beats another easily. “Can we play you every week” it goes. Wor Lasses fans were probably singing that on Sunday at Ewood Park as United smashed Blackburn Rovers Women 5 – 1 on the final day of the season.
The five-star performance brought an end to a relatively successful first campaign in the Barclay’s Women Championship with The Lady Mags ending the season in 5th place in the table and only four points off the third placed Charlton Athletic.
United finished four points of local rivals and well-established Championship side Sunderland as well as completing a league double over The Mackems and only two points behind Durham Women who have spent 11 seasons at this level.
Newcastle only lost four league games all season out of 20 and perhaps what cost them in the end was too many draws. Seven in total and some from winning positions as well. They were the ‘fine margins’ that Manager Becky Langley has talked about in the last few weeks.
Turning a few of them into wins would have had Langley’s Lasses right up there challenging for a third successive back-to-back promotion which in reality this campaign was a target but perhaps more of a hope than an expectation.
The Lasses, those of those that stay, and The Club now know exactly what is needed to get to the promised land of the Women’s Super League. There will no doubt be big moves behind the scenes during the summer to try and put Langley and her squad in the best position to do exactly that.
But back to Sunday’s game. Only three weeks after destroying Rovers 6 – 0 at Kingston Park, United strode confidently into Ewood Park and once again put Blackburn to the sword with a clinical display. In many ways this result and performance showed how far United have come.
The first goal arrived on 11 minutes and it was a beauty. Deanna Cooper playing a ball from halfway to the left to find Demi Stokes. She advanced down the line and played a great 1 – 2 with Freya Godfrey before putting an excellent cross into the danger area.
It found Shania Hayles about 8-yards out and she cleverly headed the ball back across Poppy Soper and beyond her outstretched hands to register her 13th goal of the season and put United firmly in the driving seat.
United dominated possession with Emily Murphy heading just wide of the post from an excellent Godfrey left wing cross. Godfrey then went close herself when she exchanged passes from a short right-wing corner with Beth Lumsden and drove into the box.
From 16-yards out she unleashed a left foot thunderbolt that Soper did well to beat away and keep the deficit to only one goal at the interval and keep Rovers just about in the game as the sides left the field.
Within four minutes of the restart Soper did even better to keep United out. A great right-wing cross from Lois Joel who had a great game was met inside the six-yard box by Hayles on the volley. Somehow though Soper made a brilliant instinctive reflex save to save what looked a certain goal.
The second though wasn’t long in coming and it was Gregory that struck on 53 minutes. Cooper’s long searching diagonal ball finding her in space on the left. Gregory cut inside the box and the from a very tight angle floated the ball over Soper and saw it drop into the net at the back post.
Perhaps a question mark as to whether it was a cross or not with Hayles and Joel unmarked and awaiting the delivery. But judging by Gregory’s reaction to the ball hitting the back of the net it seemed very much as if she had meant the finish.
On 61 minutes Cooper having been involved in the first two goals got on the scoresheet herself. Sneaking around the back of the Blackburn defence at the far post she was first to Gregory’s in-swinging corner to nod home from a tight angle inside the six-yard area.
Little had been seen of Rovers in attack but Claudia Moan did have to be at her best on 67 minutes to extend her arms fully and tip over Chloe Williams’ well-struck 22-yard drive and then punch the incoming corner away from inside her six-yard box under pressure.
But United were soon back up the other end and went further in-front on 69 minutes. This time it was an out-swinging left wing corner from Gregory. Hayles losing her markers inside the six-yard box to cleverly head home her second goal of the afternoon.
The best of Wor Lasses’ five came on 73 minutes with a superbly crafted team goal beautifully finished. Gregory and Stokes combining on the left before Stokes turned the ball inside to Rachel Furness captain for the day on her last NUFC appearance.
Her fist time ball to the edge of the box found Hayles who laid it back to Joel and then took an excellent first-time return pass into her stride before curling her right foot shot expertly around the diving Soper into the far corner from 14-yards to complete a brilliant hat-trick.
That made it a nap-hand for United and 15 goals personally for Hayles in an outstanding season for United’s premier striker who only finished one goal behind Isobel Goodwin of Champions London City Lionesses in the race for the Golden Boot.
Hayles indeed spurned perhaps her easiest chance of the afternoon on 84 minutes to make it four and draw level with Goodwin. Soper dropping Charlotte Wardlaw’s deep cross from the right into Hayles path but the striker shot over from five yards out with the goal gaping.
There was then a lovely moment for Grace Donnelly United’s long-serving Club Captain who came in to replace Claudia Moan for her 100th league game in Newcastle colours in what will be her final appearance for The Club. A lovely gesture by Manager Langley.
It produced a huge, deserved reception from the vast travelling Toon Army but unfortunately for Donnelly not a fairytale ending as substitute Liv Watt tripped Farah Compton in the box to give Rovers a consolation penalty that skipper Tyler Toland converted easily.
However, it didn’t spoil the victory celebrations at the end as United took a huge victory on the road to bring the curtain down on a solid Championship season. Yes, going in to the campaign there were dreams of a third successive promotion but in the end the step-up was one too far.
That said on the evidence of their performances during the campaign and with a good summer on and off the pitch Newcastle will return in 2025/26 as one of the favourites to achieve that dream of becoming a Women’s Super League side. It’s something to really look forward to.