Sunderland have marked their return to elite football with a gritty 1-0 victory at Coventry United this afternoon in the FA Women’s Championship.
Jessica Brown netted the only goal of the match just after the hour mark as Melanie Reay’s side got off to the perfect start following their promotion to the second tier in June.
A quiet first half saw neither side really trouble the goal. New Coventry United signing Katie Wilkinson fired a couple of efforts off target while Charlotte Potts headed narrowly wide following a corner kick at the other end.
The main incident of the half came just before the break when Coventry United goalkeeper Olivia Clark collided with Keira Ramshaw and the former had to be replaced by Lucy Thomas.
Despite bringing in a number of high-profile signings in the summer, Coventry United didn’t seem to click and you always felt that Sunderland had a good chance of claiming at least a point. The Lady Black Cats twice went close to breaking the deadlock early in the second half with Emma Kelly testing Thomas and Brown heading over.
The opening goal finally arrived soon after when Brown received a pass in the box, created space, and directed a shot across goal which nestled nicely in the far corner.
From that moment on, Reay’s side never looked to be in any danger of letting the lead slip. Wilkinson thumped a shot just over but Sunderland always seemed to match or even better their opponents. Kelly and Neve Herron tested Thomas as the Wearsiders looked to extend their lead before the Coventry United keeper had to impressively keep out a Ramshaw pile-driver from the edge of the box.
Coventry United did put pressure on the Sunderland back-line in the final minutes but the visitors were organised, calm and resolute and ended the game the worthy winners.
Coventry United will now look ahead to next weekend’s trip to Charlton Athletic while Sunderland host Blackburn Rovers.
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