Men 2nd

I had my first ever trip to see Newcastle United Women on Sunday 24th September; it certainly won't be my last visit.

Perhaps the saddest thing about the build up to Newcastle’s away defeat against Brighton was the smug self-adoration of the ultra-uber Superfans on Twitter, bragging how they’d been to Swansea, had a ticket for Brighton and would all be on their way to Southampton in mid-October, as if shelling out the thick end of £500 on games they could have watched on the telly made them a better person. Three away games; all long distance, all 4pm Sunday on Sky and each one sold out. Against modern football indeed.

Well done to those whose family, financial and work circumstances allow them to spend their disposable income in this way. I’m on £32k per annum and I couldn’t afford one those journeys from my regularly monthly income, even if I was remotely interested in making them. Frankly, I’ll happily stick with watching them round at Ginger Dave’s, leaving it up to the middle classes and benefit claimants to attend in my stead, as they’re the only ones who could possibly afford it. I suppose the fact that Brighton was also hosting the Labour Party Conference was rather ironic; while Comrade Chris Hughton would be just the sort of bloke to sit down and talk dialectics with Jeremy Corbyn, our posh fans would all be Tories and the dole wallahs EDL or Britain First types.

Now I love my Sunday excursions to sporting events whatever they may be; for the last 4 months these have almost exclusively been trips to cricket. There was one last game on Sunday 24^th, where Castle Eden secured promotion to NEPL Division 1 by beating Swalwell by 35 runs at the Emirates. Fair play to them; I look forward to visiting in 2018.  While I was delighted to hear about Moeen Ali and Chris Gayle’s heroics in the one dayer at Bristol, the result from Chester le Street was of more importance to me, as it actually concerns where I’ll be getting my entertainment from next summer. So with cricket out the way, I had half thought of rugby league as a possible alternative, but the Thunder’s heroic late season momentum ground to a halt in the play-off semi-final, with a narrow 60-0 loss to Barrow. Better luck next year lads.

However, there are still a couple of other forthcoming sporting events worth considering. My one and only trip to ice hockey was to see Slovan Bratislava beat Spisska Nova Ves 3-1 in March 2000, but I’ve decided to give my support to David Longstaff and Whitley Warriors. Hence when Newcastle face Liverpool next Sunday, my intention is to be at Hillheads to see if the Warriors can build on this week’s win over Nottingham Lions when Deeside Dragons are the visitors.

What I actually did on Sunday 24^th September was to see Newcastle United Women’s FC at home to Leeds United Ladies at their new home of Cochrane Park and I’m very glad I did, as it was an excellent game. Previously NUWFC played across the road at Team Northumbria, but prohibitive ground rent saw them occupy what may still be the home sod for Newcastle University’s Northern Alliance Premier Division team, though the word on the street is they’re upgrading a pitch with lights elsewhere in the complex for the purpose of applying to the Northern League next season.

Now my knowledge of the women’s game is as sketchy as my understanding of the Champions’ League. I’m aware England did well in an international tournament this summer and have just sacked their boss, not for a load of hideous 70s style racism but because he’s a reputation as a bit of a sleaze. There’s also a WPSL as well, which has just switched from summer to winter seasons, with the local Sunderland side getting bombed out of their former home of Eppleton CW to play at South Shields’ Mariners Park instead. There you have it; my whole knowledge condensed into a paragraph.

I did have a bit of experience of women’s football at Percy Main between 2009 and 2012. Indeed I still remember a few games; a 21-0 win over Newcastle Medicals in the inaugural league game was the first game I saw. A few months later, the Women’s FA Cup appeared, in the shape of a home tie against North Shields Women. A big local derby with a compulsory programme required; we did 100 copies and I think there were 85 of them left when I left Percy Main for Benfield in 2013. At least we beat them though, giving us a home tie against a side from Liverpool. This time we did a dozen programmes; one for every goal the visitors scored as it turned out. Eventually the women’s team folded after one of the managers immigrated to New Zealand and the other was smuggled out the back door from his job as a student mentor at a local College for blurring a few boundaries. Therefore it was with an open mind I cycled through the wrought iron portico of Cochrane Park on Sunday afternoon and willingly handed over the £3 entrance fee.

There were actually two games taking place; on the bottom pitch the NUWFC Development Squad were taking on their Blackburn Rovers counterparts, who returned home with a 4-1 victory under their belts. While I had intended to watch a half of each game, such was the standard of play, degree of excitement and level of enjoyment provided by the first team contest, expertly officiated by Lyndsay Robinson, I literally couldn’t tear myself away from it.

Within 4 minutes it was 1-1; Newcastle took the lead with a gloriously curled finish from an exquisite pull-back. Leeds kicked off, went down the other end and, after the NUFC keeper had pulled off a world class save, an unmarked forward rushed to stroke home the loose ball. Leeds took the lead after 8 minutes and it looked like either team would score every time they attacked. Newcastle had 4 excellent chances in a row; two spurned and two marvellous saves. Eventually Newcastle drew level on the half hour, breaking the high, risky and hitherto effective Yorkshire defensive line. Only after the scores were tied did the tempo drop from the breakneck.

Come the second period and things initially slowed down; there were plenty of deft flicks and touches of remarkable fluency. Equally there were plenty of F words uttered in frustration, though not by the two benches; the Newcastle management in particular seemed insistent on emotional blackmail and guilt tripping the officials rather than resorting to the language of the snooker hall. It didn’t work. Leeds went 3-2 up, before Newcastle got level with a thumping header from a corner that Jamaal Lascelles would have been proud of. That wasn’t the end though; another great save by the home keeper was harshly rewarded with a tap-in for the visitors gave them a 4-3 lead that they held onto, despite endless waves of Newcastle pressure and heroic Leeds defence. What a great game; it could have been 10-10 it really could. I’ll definitely be back.

So, what about the blokes? Only saw the second half. Poor marking for the goal. Plenty of possession. Lots of effort and honest endeavour. A few half chances. Little guile or craft. No robbery. No great tragedy. No crisis as yet. Sometimes you lose a game and just have to accept it; I’m sure NUWFC did that with grace and intelligence.