Bright future ahead for Ladies after tough year and promotion
A year of challenge, a long overdue promotion and building the foundations of a promising future.
We take a look back at the past 12-months for Sunderland Ladies.
January/February: Heading into 2021 the Covid pandemic continued to impact everyday life in unprecedented ways. Although football was allowed to continue–albeit behind closed doors –‘ non-elite’ sport was suspended from 4 January, bringing a temporary halt to Sunderland Ladies’ season.
The possibility of history repeating would have been another devastating blow for Mel Reay and her team who were still overcoming the bitter disappointment of the 201920 campaign being curtailed which had denied them a shot at promotion and potential league cup win.
March: But with 80% of fixtures still to be played and responding to feedback submitted by leagues and clubs, the FA confirmed steps 3-6 of the women’s football pyramid would be declared null and void with immediate effect.
There would also be no promotion or relegation, but a process of upward club movement –by application–would be consideredto‘ protect the integrity of the women’ s game’ following two years of disruption.
April: Three months of no football and only five days training was hardly ideal preparation, but Reay spoke of her pride of her players’ resilience in overcoming setbacks and their strength as a group.
“I think they are just grateful to be back doing what they love,” she said.
“They’ ve overcome barriers both personally and as a team, and they’re a credit to themselves with that. I’m proud to coach them and proud to lead them.”
They couldn’t have hoped for a better start as goals from Keira Ramshaw and Holly Manders added to Eve Blakey’s hat-trick as the Black Cats swept aside Sheffield to set up an away tie with Burnley in the next round.
Reay also revealed she had an encouraging meeting with sporting director Kristjaan Speakman to plan the team’s growth in the coming years as part of the club’s overall philosophy including providing access to the first teams data scientists and a swift return to the Women’s Championship.
The season would be brought to a heart-breaking end as Sunderland were beaten 3-1 on penalties by Burnley to exit the FA Cup in a fiercely contested game in a snowy Lancashire.May
If April ended on a downer, the announcement Sunderland had applied for promotion to Women’ s Championship via upward club movement certainly raised spirits.
The Black Cats also kept things ticking over with a 5-1 friendly victory over Leeds at the Academy of Light which included a ‘perfect’ hat-trick from Kiera Ramshaw.
June: In June ‘unbelievable scenes’ greeted the news that Sunderland had been successful in their bid to win promotion to the Women’s Championship, with their application accepted based on their on-field record, unrivalled youth development through the Regional Talent Club, facilities and structure.
“[Securing promotion] represents a tangible reward for Mel and her team for their stellar record over the last 24 months ,” said Kristjaan Speak man .“We now look forward to delivering on our plan and building an infrastructure to support the players and staff during the upcoming campaign.”
Those plans were ramped up throughout the month, as Keira Ramshaw and Malta international Maria Farrugia both committed their futures to the club, with the captain delighted to extend her stay on Wearside.
On the transfer front, experienced defender Charlotte Potts returned to Wearside on a free transfer, joining the Black Cats for the fifth time.
July: On the pitch, Mel Reay’s side would kick off their pre-season preparations against Celtic and Nottingham Forest at the Academy of Light. Despite holding their own against the Glasgow giants in the first half, Sunderland naturally tired in the second and narrowly lost 1-0.
Three days later they recorded their first win, coming from behind to beat Forest 2-1 with Holly Manders and Eve Blakey scoring quickfire goals after half-time.
There was a notable change off the pitch as Durham first team coach Steph Libbey replaced long serving and popular assistant manager Trevor Atkinson as assistant manager.
Supporters could hardly contain their excitement ahead of fixture release day, with Sunderland starting their Women’s Championship campaign away to Coventry United, with the first home game against Blackburn Rovers at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland were drawn alongside Liverpool, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers and Sheffield United in Group A of the Continental League Cup.
Rounding off a hectic month was the arrival of a former Black Cat, Emma Kelly, who joined from Women’ s SuperLeague outfit Birmingham City.
August: Pre-season continuedwith an impressive 4-2 win away to Derby County but ended on a down note with a 2-0 defeat against Sheffield United before attention turned to the opening Championship game in the Midlands.
Despite a nervy start, Sunderland overpowered their hosts and a superb solo goal from youngster Jess Brown helped mark their return to the second tier with a de served 1-0 win.
Behind the scenes, Gentoo Homes were announced as the club’s front of shirt sponsor for the 2021-22 season, with the Branch Liaison Council’s successful Matchday Mental Health Hub logo featuring on the sleeves and Everyone Active signing up as back of shirt sponsor, strengtheningcommunity support of the women’ s game.
September: With the club’ s usual home ground Eppleton CW undergoing redevelopment to upgrade facilities, and to celebrate the return of supporters, the Blackburn match was switched to the Stadium of Light.
“We’ve waited such a long time for you to all be back watching the girls and having our support behind us is massive,” said Mel Reay in her programme notes. “It doesn’t get bigger than a match at the Stadium of Light in front of our fans.”
Almost 800 fans turned out in the sunshine to watch Reay’ s side go top of the league with an impressive 2-0 win.
The unbeaten start continued in London the following week as sub Kiera Ramshaw inspired a brilliant comeback and earn a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace, while a late own goal rescued a point against Lewes at the Stadium of Light as the month ended.
Adding a bit of spice to October’s River Wear Derby against Durham, Sunderland announced the signing of former Wildcats forward Iris Achterhof on a non-contract agreement for the remainder of the season. October
Before the Durham game, the Black Cats made the long trip to the South West to face Bristol City. In horrendous conditions which directly contributed to the Vixens’ second goal, Sunderland’s unbeaten run ended abruptly with a 2-1 defeat.
Things didn’ t get much better a week later as Durham took the derby bragging rights with a 2-0 win in front of a bumper crowd of 865 at Eppleton CW.
With one eye on the future, England youth international Grace E de was promoted to the senior squad from the Regional Talent Club.
The 16-year-old went straight into the squad for the Continental Cup clash with Sheffield United, but it was another RTC graduate, Keira Ramshaw, who stole the show by scoring a dramatic stoppage-time penalty against Sheffield United to tie the game 1-1 after 90 minutes, as Sunderland claimed the bonus point after a penalty shoot-out win.
Mel Reay challenged her team to use the Blades result to push on in the league and her side duly obliged with a 1-0 victory at Charlton Athletic to end October on a high note.
November: Back in Continental Cup action, first half goals from Grace McCatty and Holly M anders helped Sunderland move to the top of Group A with a 2-1 success over Blackburn.
A week that started with a bang fizzled out with a frustrating 2-0 home reverse against London City Lionesses then,
a week later, Kiera Ramshaw scored her third goal of the season at Watford, but the Black Cats would have to settle a draw on Women’ s Football Weekend.
League leaders Liverpool showed exactly why they are expected to be playing Super League football next season with a dominant performance.
Emily Scarr shocked the visitors with a goal inside the first 20 minutes, but the Reds hit back to head into the break 2-1 in front.
But looking back on the season so far, Reay said thats he couldn’t have asked for any more from her players and was encouraged with their progress.
November also saw Wearside welcome the Lionesses to the Stadium of Light for their penultimate 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier of the year against Austria.
Manchester City striker Ellen White marked her 100th cap with the only goal of the game as England made it five wins from five to strengthen their position at the top of Group D in front of 9,159 hardy souls who had braved Storm Arwen to cheer on Sarina Wiegman’s side.
Sunderland announced another potential star and England youth international – Daisy Burt – had made the jump to senior football.
December: December would be a roller coaster month in more ways than one.
In the build up to the Aston Villa Continental Cup tie, the squad was rocked by the news that Emily Scarr had been spiked on a night out and Kiera Ramshaw was suffering from concussion after being involved in a car accident.
Although Scarr was able to face the Villans, Reay was only able to name four subs as they were crushed 7-0 by the Super League side.
“With all the injuries we’ve had, it doesn’t really help that we couldn’t make any changes so the team picked itself almost,” Reay said.
Scarr’s spiking came as Northumbria Police confirmed a rise in cases across the region in November and emphasised the importance of highlighting the dangers.
“It can happen to anyone and that you have to have your wits and your guard about you wherever you are,” Steph Libbey said.
As key players returned, results improved, first a 1-0 win over Brighouse securing Sunderland’s place in the FA Cup fourth round where they will face Birmingham City, and then a 4-2 penalty shoot-out win against Liverpool in the Continental League Cup.
Maria Farrugia scored the decisive spot kick to secure the bonus point after the tie finished goalless after 90 minutes as the Black Cats finished second in Group A, but missed out on a quarter final place.
Hopes of carrying the feelgood factor into the league were dashed after the clash with Sheffield United was postponed due to Covid reasons.
With a well-deserved rest over the festive period, Sunderland will be heading into the New Year with optimism, hoping to cement their place in the Women’ s Championship for another season. Sunderland will be looking up instead of down with a promising 2022 ahead.