The spoils were shared as Durham and Sunderland played out a 1-1 draw in a North East derby at Maiden Castle this afternoon.
Both goals came in the opening quarter of the game with Saoirse Noonan’s header for Durham being swiftly cancelled out by Brianna Westrup’s debut strike at the other end.
As you would expect from a local derby, the early stages of the game were a real battle with both sides putting in lots of energy and enthusiasm. It was Sunderland who threatened first but Tyler Dodds fired wide of goal from the edge of the area.
Durham took the lead 13 minutes in. Sunderland goalkeeper Claudia Moan failed to deal with a cross from the right and Noonan headed the ball into an unguarded net.
The Lady Black Cats responded and Westrup directed a shot against the bar. The same player made amends for her miss moments later when she headed home from a corner kick.
Both sides pushed for a second goal before the break but neither goalkeeper was severely tested as the first half ended 1-1.
Durham came out brightly for the second half and they forced a couple of good saves from Moan. First, the Sunderland keeper had to push a Mollie Lambert effort to safety before tipping a dangerous Beth Hepple free-kick over the bar.
It was Hepple who again tested Moan 16 minutes from time but the midfielder’s shot from a difficult angle was always going to struggle to creep into the bottom corner of the net.
Durham looked to be the most likely side to net a winning goal in the closing stages of the match but Sunderland keeper Moan was left largely untroubled. The visitors did have one chance themselves at the other end but a headed effort went narrowly wide following a corner kick as the game ended 1-1.
Next weekend sees Durham travel to Bramall Lane to take on Sheffield United while Sunderland host Birmingham City at The Stadium of Light.
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