New Women's football thread (inc World Cup) 2023-26

[Durhamfootman]

Newcastle are struggling a bit, despite (or maybe because of) all these new players signed in the summer. They are playing at a new ground too having moved from the artificial surface at Kingston Pk to the grass one at Gateshead Stadium. They've only lost once, but equally, they've only won once too. They keep having to come from behind to score late (very late sometimes) equalisers. They are playing a new system (3-5-2), with a load of new players and it isn't quite gelling yet.

I watched today's game v Bristol C on the telly and they battered the visitors in the first half but squandered chance after chance until they finally took the lead with virtually the last kick of the half. Then in the second half Bristol C were all over them like a rash, scored early and scored again later in the half. Then from nowhere, Newcastle fired in a long range effort in the 89th minute. Last week they were 2-0 down to Palace and scored in the 87th and 98th minutes to salvage a point.

I think they need to sort this out, because this is the best chance they'll ever have of getting promoted with the forthcoming restructure of the WSL meaning extra promotion spots for one season. They are calling it a 5 year project with the aim of making it into the WSL by 2030, which seems a conservative approach to me. There was none of that sort of timidity from Michelle Kang at London City.

[Durhamfootman]

Durham beat Forest 3-0 and Sunderland drew away to Palace

Newly promoted Forest have 3 wins under their belt. They are the only team that Newcastle have beaten this season

[Durhamfootman]

The Asllani goal that won the game v WHU was something else. Not often you see a goalkeeping error of that magnitude

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/c8exz7499x8t

[Durhamfootman]

Millie Bright has announced her retirement from international football

right decision for her, because I think her race was run anyway. She's been an excellent international and a great servant for England, but her decreasing pace has left her a bit exposed at that level

[Durhamfootman]

I've watched a lot of football in the last few days, but the match tonight between Glasgow City and HB Koge for a place in the inaugural Europa Cup. GC had been knocked out of the qualifiers for the CL and had to settle for the final qualifying round of this and went into tonight trailing 2-1. They instantly went 3a goal behind, virtually from the kick off, before asserting themselves with 2 goals of their own in the first 25 mins to level the tie 3-3 on aggregate. HBK went ahead again before HT. GC scored to level it in the second half, but with 5 mins to go conceded from a big defensive error.... 4-5. Then right on the 90, they got a corner and the defender who had just given away the goal scored herself to level it up and then GC scored again 2 mins later. In the couple of minutes of stoppage time remaining HB Koge squandered 2 chances to force extra time, but GC hung on for a 5-3 win on the night and a 6-5 win on aggregate

A great game to watch for the neutral. One of those never say die games.

[Durhamfootman]

Newcastle are struggling a bit, despite (or maybe because of) all these new players signed in the summer. They are playing at a new ground too having moved from the artificial surface at Kingston Pk to the grass one at Gateshead Stadium. They've only lost once, but equally, they've only won once too. They keep having to come from behind to score late (very late sometimes) equalisers. They are playing a new system (3-5-2), with a load of new players and it isn't quite gelling yet..............

...............I think they need to sort this out, because this is the best chance they'll ever have of getting promoted with the forthcoming restructure of the WSL meaning extra promotion spots for one season.

After 6 years at the helm Newcastle have parted company with manager Becky Langley. I did wonder if her position was at risk after such a poor return for the significant summer investment, but I decided she still had some time after being given a new contract herself in the summer. Not to be, though. Now we wait to see who they bring in

[Durhamfootman]

Last night's friendly with Brazil felt like de ja vu to me. It looked like a carbon copy of the first few games from 3 years ago after first lifting the European crown.

Gifting goals from mistakes, struggling to get into the game, poor passing, getting hit on the counter....... it's like a list of England's all time favourite hits

For 20 mins they couldn't even face the right way, they weren't allowed to. Brazil pressed hard and aggressively, harrying England into making mistakes. If that had been allowed to continue England could easily have been on the end of a hiding, because they looked completely shell shocked. Fortunately for England, Brazil had a player sent off after 20 minutes or so for a last defender tug back and the pressure inevitably eased from that point on. The new keeper had a torrid debut. Walsh, Stanway and Mead were largely invisible in that first half, a half that saw the defensive partnership of Le Tiss, Carter, Morgan and Greenwood struggling like hell to contain the Brazilians even after the sending off. Greenwood and Kelly's set piece deliveries were pretty poor on the whole. Toone cut a frustrated figure and Russo, perhaps the only player to come away with any credit, pretty much had to create everything herself from hopeful passes and scraps. That all settled down in the second half as England made their extra player count, but Brazil were smart and left Carter alone as the extra player least likely to hurt them and when when she was subbed off, they left Morgan alone presumably on the same principle. Morgan made a number of deep runs unchecked, but she was unable to find a killer pass so started to fire shots from range

It was as well that England were awarded a penalty because, frankly, it looked like the only way they were going to score. If England had been given a penalty every time Mead went to ground in the box, they might have won 10-2

Now, this was an England starting XI shorn of Hampton, Bronze, Williamson, Hemp and James..... and throughout the Euros England had to leave it late to progress after conceding too many early goals, but even so there are a lot of things to ponder ahead of Australia on Tuesday

[Durhamfootman]

A better performance from England tonight, but they caught a lucky break when Aus had a player sent off after 18 mins for denying a goal scoring opportunity, almost the same point in the game that Brazil lost their captain for the same reason. It was a very different looking side tonight, with debuts for Lucia Kendall and Taylor Hinds, and a rare start for Aggie B-J.

ABJ was a right handful in the Hemp position, with a few attempts at goal before opening the scoring straight after the red card. Kendall did well, but I really liked the look of Hinds at LB. A very assured debut, quick to move the ball and generally very positive passing. Given the responsibility for corners and some of the free kicks too. Hinds and Kendall are not players that I've seen before, but they both impressed me. Kendall had a touch of the Grace Clinton's about her

There was a bit of poor fortune for England late on. SW had subbed Bronze at HT, then made 4 changes on the hour, but kept a sub back in reserve. With 10 mins to play, ABJ started to hobble a bit and signalled that she needed to come off, but as the sub was being prepared Michelle Agyemang went down and had to be stretchered off. They tried to keep ABJ on the pitch, but she had to come off and the last 10 mins was played as a 10 v 10

2-0 at HT and 3-0 in the end after Stanway converted a pen with the last kick of the game. Australia were happy to defend (even with 11) and tried to hit England on the counter when they could, but the back four of Bronze, Le Tiss, Morgan and Hinds had enough legs to get back quickly and there wasn't much jeopardy there, in truth, even with Kerr up front

Hard to say with the early red card, but it all looked a lot better from England tonight after the disappointment of Saturday.

[andy]

Confirmed that agyemang has done her ACL real sad news for her hopefully she has a swift recovery

[Durhamfootman]

out for the season, bless her

[Durhamfootman]

A better performance today from Newcastle, despatching bottom of the table Ipswich 1-4

Only the second win of the season. The interim manager switched from this season's 3-5-2 to the more familiar 4-5-1 and recalled out of favour striker Hayles who scored twice. The goal they conceded came from a goalkeeping howler, after she spilled a non-threatening long range free kick under no pressure whatsoever for Ipswich to poke home.

defeat for Durham and Sunderland, sees Newcastle leapfrog them in the table

Charlton nicked a 1-0 away to Birmingham to open up a 4 point lead at the top

[Durhamfootman]

Blimey, that was a frustrating watch. Newcastle battered Durham this afternoon.... battered them. Scored early, then conceded straight away by giving the ball away in a dangerous area and from the resulting long throw, the keeper made a hash of dealing with the backward flick on and conceded. In the dying seconds of the first half, Durham had the ball in the back of the net again, but the ball had gone over the touchline en route. Newcastle's striker was through on goal twice and all she had to do was not shoot straight at the keeper.... she shot straight at the keeper both times. Second half was all Newcastle. Attack after attack, chance after chance. Keeper made a good save to prevent a certain goal, but the attacker was so close to the goal that she shouldn't have been able to get near it. Another attack, another pull back to a player in front of goal, saw the attacker air kick the shot and end up her @rse with the goal beckoning. I was utterly convinced that Durham would score a late winner and they nearly did.... from giving the ball away, obviously.... but the defender just managed to take the ball off the striker's toe as she was about to bury it in the back of the net.

I think Newcastle had something ridiculous like 20 shots with 10 of them on target and apart from the early goal never realistically looked like scoring again. I have no doubt whatsoever that the Durham keeper will have been awarded the POTM, but really Newcastle made life pretty easy for her. It seems incredible that after dominating so much of the game and having so many of the best chances they'll ever get, that a point feels like a decent result.

sometimes football can be very hard to watch without gnawing off a big chunk of your own liver

[Durhamfootman]

I watched a big chunk of Man Utd's win over PSG last night. Jess Park had a great game, involved in and controlling everything. I haven't really seen that from her at international level, but Olga Carmona struggled to contain her, which must be a good sign for her future England career. There weren't a lot of goal opportunities in that game, but the goals that were scored were top quality.

[Durhamfootman]

Derby day at SJP. Newcastle coming away with a 3-1 win. Sunderland played well, though and probably created more chances, but they came across a new goalie making her debut and excelling. Sunderland got a penalty early in the second half, but the keeper went the right way and stopped the ball right in the bottom corner. Not a bad penalty by any means. Newcastle scored 2 and Sunderland pulled one back all in 5 or 6 minutes and all from corners. It was the corners that showed the derby day mentality.... every corner seemed to leave players all over the floor... very feisty indeed. Newcastle sealed the deal in the 78th minute and hung on for an important win. Just a few shy of 19,000 turned up to watch

Newcastle move up to 4th in WSL2 and have 2 winnable games left to try and move into the promotion spots by Christmas. Whether they will win those games remains to be seen. It feels like a team in flux atm

[Durhamfootman]

Tanya Oxtoby leaves NI to become Newcastle head coach

her record with NI is underwhelming, but I guess it's hard to read anything into that... it's NI

ah well.... see how it goes, but I'd be more impressed if they brought in Emma Hayes as head coach