Saoirse Noonan admitted that Durham didn’t perform to their best levels after they were only able to draw 1-1 with neighbours Sunderland at Maiden Castle this afternoon.
Noonan headed The Wildcats into an early lead on her debut but Brianna Westrup quickly levelled matters for Sunderland at the other end.
Neither side were able to find a winning goal in what was a pretty even affair played out in front of a sell-out crowd on the banks of the River Wear.
When speaking to the media after the match, Noonan was very honest in admitting that Durham’s performance was far from their best.
“It’s great getting the goal but you want the win at the end of the day,” Noonan said. “We didn’t perform and at the end of the day, if you don’t perform, you won’t come away with three points.
“Every point counts in this league, it is going to be so competitive. We are upset to go in without the three points but we need to dust ourselves down, work hard in training this week and bounce back.”
There were three debutants named in the Durham starting XI this afternoon. Manager Lee Sanders fielded a new-look attack with Noonan being partnered with Jess Clarke. The Republic of Ireland international said that it may take a little time for things to gel but she was again not looking for excuses.
“Of course, it’ll take time but that’s what pre-season is for as well. We’ve played a good couple of games together now and we are learning about each other and how each other plays – the more we play, the easier it is going to be.
“We played really well in pre-season, we thought we were ready and we were probably ready but we just didn’t come out of second gear. Maybe the day and the occasion got to us but hopefully, next week we can put on a good performance.”
Durham’s next match is against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Saturday evening.
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