••• The Guardian Monday 2 May 2022(^38) Sport
Football
Women’s National League
Newcastle
taste victory
in historic
home game
T
he tone of the
announcement
issued over the public
address system was
apologetic yet proud.
Kick-off had been
delayed by 15 minutes because of
crowd congestion at the turnstiles
where an unexpectedly high
number of Newcastle fans were
queuing to see the club’s women’s
team play at St James’ Park for the
fi rst time.
By half-time, when the offi cial
attendance – an impressive 22,134 –
was announced, those club offi cials
who had forecast an audience
somewhere between 5,000 and
10,000 had fully woken up to the
often underestimated pulling
power of women’s football.
Given that Becky Langley’s sidereside in the fourth tier of England’s
female pyramid, were facing lowly
Alnwick Town Ladies and have just
lost their battle with Liverpool Feds
for the National League Division
One North’s sole promotion
place, it was a remarkable turn out
rewarded by a highly entertaining
game won 4-0 by Newcastle.
Goals from Katie Barker, who
was buoyed by a pre-match good
luck message from Alan Shearer,
the retiring captain Brooke
Cochrane, Georgia Gibson and
Bethany Guy were fully celebrated
by the biggest women’s domestic
crowd in England this season.
“I’ve dreamed of playing here
since I was a child,” said Barker. “It
was amazing – and a few tears were
shed when I scored.” Cochrane had
similar emotions. “Overwhelming,
unbelievable, phenomenal,” she
said. “From now on this team is
going to fl y. This is just the start.”
Well before kick-off the
Gallowgate End was already almost
as packed as on a Premier League
men’s match day. Granted ticketsAround 22,000 fans turn out
to watch the team’s fi rst game
at St James’ Park, despite it
being a fourth-tier fi xtureLouise Taylor
St James’ Parkwere priced at a modest £3 but the
crowd’s passion spoke volumes.
As things fi nally got under way a
giant “Howay The Lasses” banner
was unfurled in the Gallowgate
and the watching Amanda Staveley
would not have been human had
she not felt a certain sense of
vindication. Newcastle’s co-owner
may be a minority shareholder in
the Saudi Arabian-controlled club
but she and her husband, Mehrdad
Ghodoussi, are responsible for
day-to-day football operations
on Tyneside. So far at least they
appear to be doing an excellent job.
Part of Staveley’s brief has
involved ensuring all Newcastle’s
staff are paid at least the living
wage and off ering them access
to a decent pension scheme but
supporting Langley’s women is
another centrepiece of the many
welcome changes made since Mike
Ashley sold the club last October.
Next season the women’s squad
will start turning fully professional
and begin benefi ting from some
hefty investment. The plan is toreach the Women’s Super League
and qualify for the Champions
League within fi ve years.
Given that Saudi Arabia is not
exactly known for promoting
women’s rights that might seem
paradoxical but football, like life,
is full of paradoxes. Maybe the
sight of a female football team
bankrolled by the Kingdom’s Public
Investment Fund might help to
augment the eff orts of those Saudi
modernisers striving to enhance
women’s freedoms in their part of
the Gulf.
Tellingly as the victim of
plenty of sexism and, sometimes,
downright misogyny, in the City of
London during the course of her job
as a fi nancier, Staveley understands
the wider social importance of
promoting women’s sport.
Langley, who has been invited to
discuss tactics over coff ee with the
Newcastle men’s manager, Eddie
Howe, who sat alongside Staveley
yesterday , is suitably grateful. She
said: “We really appreciate the
emotional support and of course
the investment in the women’s
team by the new owners. It’s a
special moment in our history
and it’s been such a fantastic
experience but, even though we
had very limited resources before
the takeover, I’m still so bitterly
disappointed that we’ve just
missed out on promotion.”
What a shame St James’ Park, so
conveniently situated in Newcastle
city centre, was not chosen as a
venue for the Women’s European
Championship this summer when
few would have bet against it being
fi lled to its 52,000 capacity. Newcastle
fans display
a banner in
support of
the women’s
team on the
Gallowgate End
during their
4-0 win against
Alnwick Town
Ladies
STU F0RSTER/
GETTY IMAGESBirmingham 0 Chelsea 1
Everton 2 Tottenham 2
Leicester 0 Reading 0
Manchester City 7 Brighton 2
Manchester Utd 3 West Ham 0Other WSL results
Women’s Super LeagueMiedema double helps
Arsenal dismantle Villa
Arsenal breezed their way past Aston
Villa, scoring seven unanswered
goals at Borehamwood to stay on
the shoulder of the Women’s Super
League leaders Chelsea.
Emma Hayes’s team restored their
lead to four points by winning at Bir-
mingham later in the day, but Arsenal
have a game in hand and will hope
to take the title race to the fi nal day
on Sunday.
Arsenal’s clearest tactic yesterday
was to ensure Beth Mead, who had
scored in her past four games and
made it fi ve in a row here, remained in
the line of sight of Mayumi Pacheco,
the Villa defender, on the right wing.
While the visitors’ back four were
busying themselves with Mead,
Vivianne Miedema sprung up to
cause defensive chaos from the left.
The Dutchwoman evaded SarahMayling’s erratic marking from the
start, making darting runs in the
box, and at other times delivering
defence-dissecting passes. It was this
particular pattern of play that led to
Arsenal’s – and Miedema’s – fi rst.
After an audacious run through the
Villa midfi eld, the forward blasted
the ball past Sian Rogers as early as
the ninth minute. Of course, one goal
would not be enough for Miedema,
especially with the WSL Golden Boot
race hotting up.
Arsenal searched for a second , this
time troub ling the Villa central defen-
sive pair. Anita Asante and Rachel
Corsie struggled to remain in touch
with one another. It was not long
before Arsenal exploited their fail-
ings and in the 13th minute Miedema
recreat ed her fi rst goal.
Jonas Eidevall, Arsenal’s manager,
commented on the Miedema-ledMaryam Naz
Meadow ParkArsenal 7
Miedema 9 13, Corsie 52og, Mead 61, Wubben-Moy 66,
Blackstenius 83, Parris 90penAston Villa 0
attack, mentioning the work done
to create it off the pitch: “It’s a big
part of us, having a good balance at
the diff erent ways we attack in open
play, lightning-fast counters and
really good positional possession
play, that’s what we try to embody
and that’s what we tried to do today.”
It became increasingly apparent
with both goals that Villa were
missing Jill Scott’s tenacity and
pressing. The 34-year-old’s injury
left a gaping hole in defensive mid-
fi eld, and Arsenal glided through it on
almost every occasion, unchecked.
It was only down to another out-
standing performance from Rogers,
the Villa goalkeeper – similar to her
player of the match display against
Manchester United – that kept the
scoreline at 2-0.
That all changed after half-time.
Though Rogers had made several
saves in the fi rst half, she could do
little to divert a header from her own
defender, Corsie, that gifted Arsenal
a third goal in the 52nd minute.
There had been some confusion on
the scorer; Miedema’s shot had clat-
tered off the crossbar and on to Cor-
sie’s head, with Mead also hoveringaround the goalmouth and attempt-
ing to apply the fi nish, but it was the
Villa defender who was deemed to
have had the fi nal touch.
Carla Ward had seen enough, and
swapped Alisha Lehmann for Sha-
nia Hayles. But the forward joined a
side camped deep in their own half,
and soon there would be a fourth
goal from Mead, a fi fth from Lotte
Wubben-Moy, and a sixth from
Stina Blackstenius in the 82nd min-
ute, as Arsenal relentlessly ploughed
through their opposition.
Eidevall said of the rout: “It’s fun-
damental, how much we do with each
game, we have to keep scoring and
getting the most points and goals we
have. I’m pleased we have that cul-
ture here, as Barcelona women’s do.”
Approaching full time, Nikita Par-
ris scored the seventh , from the pen-
alty spot, and at the end both teams
had gained their own reprieve and
insight. Aston Villa will likely avoid
relegation , Arsenal know they must
simply try to win their remaining two
games, the fi rst of which is Wednes-
day’s north London derby at the
Emirates Stadium. If Arsenal lose it
the title will be Chelsea’s again. Win,
and the race goes to the wire.Arsenal
4-3-3
Williams; Maritz
(Wienroither 73),
Williamson, Wubben-Moy,
Catley; Wälti, Little,
Miedema (Nobbs 73;
Maanum 85); Mead
(Parris 73), McCabe
(Blackstenius 61), Foord•
Subs not used
Zinsberger, Beattie,
Boye, CullAston Villa
4-3-3
Rogers; Mayling,
Corsie, Asante,
Pacheco; Boye-Hlorkah
(Sargeant 67), Blindkilde,
McLoughlin; Lehmann
(Hayles 57), Gielnik,
Petzelberger
Subs not used
Hampton, Hutton,
Haywood, RabjohnReferee Lisa Benn Attendance 2,305▲ Vivianne Miedema fi res home
Arsenal’s opener against Aston VillaFootball
In briefLeeds UnitedDallas out for ‘lengthy
period’ after leg break
Leeds have confi rmed Stuart Dallas
broke his leg against Manchester
City and faces a “lengthy period”
on the sidelines. The 31-year-old
Northern Ireland international
quickly became a fan favourite
and key fi gure after joining from
Brentford in 2015. Relegation-
threatened Leeds are now reeling
from the news that Dallas will be
out for the remainder of the season
following a 50-50 challenge with
Jack Grealish in Saturday’s 4-0 loss
at Elland Road.
“Stuart Dallas faces a lengthy
period out of action due to a
femoral fracture sustained in
yesterday’s Premier League game
with Manchester City,” a club
statement read. “It is impossible to
put into words just how important
Stuart is to Leeds United on and
off the fi eld. Anyone who knows
Stuart, knows he will come back
from this stronger than ever, and in
the meantime, he is sure to make
his presence known at both Thorp
Arch and Elland Road.” PA Media
Crystal PalaceEze marching on after
scoring against Saints
Eberechi Eze wants to keep
improving after scoring his fi rst
goal of an injury-impacted season
in Crystal Palace’s comeback
victory at Southampton. Eze is still
getting back to his best following
an achilles injury, and was elated
to score in the 2-1 win. “It was a
huge moment for me, my family
and everyone that’s supported me
on this journey,” he said. “But I
don’t want to stop here, I want to
keep going and keep scoring. God
willing, it gets better and better
from here.” PA Media
LutonKeeper deal sealed
before Fulham clash
The Hull City goalkeeper Matt
Ingram has joined Luton Town on
an emergency loan for the fi nal two
regular games of the Championship
season following EFL approval.
The decision was made by the
EFL to allow promotion-chasing
Luton to add Ingram to their squad
following numerous injuries. Luton
travel to promoted Fulham tonight.
Guardian sport
▲ Stuart Dallas is taken off the pitch
following his injury at Elland Road