Sides prepare for historic Wear-Tyne clash

The Stadium of Light will host the North East’s biggest women’s game and second tier game when Newcastle United visit Sunderland for the Wear-Tyne derby on Sunday.

More than 12,000 tickets have already been sold for the first Barclays Women’s Championship fixture between the rivals.

As well as attracting the largest crowd for a women’s derby match in this region, Sunday’s attendance will also beat the Championship record, set previously when Sheffield United met London City Lionesses in front of 11,137 spectators two years ago.

Alex Clark, Sunderland’s general manager of women’s football, said although the teams will embrace the derby day challenge, both clubs are keen to encourage a family atmosphere for supporters from both sides of the North East divide. 

In previous years, men’s fixtures have encountered some crowd trouble, and it is one of the most heavily policed games in the country. 

But the images from this weekend should be very different, and Sunderland have taken advice from other women’s clubs that have hosted derbies to ensure it runs smoothly.

Alex told Bdaily: “We want to keep that real family-friendly feeling.

“We want to inspire the next generation to play football –  and not just girls –  and for everyone to come and have a good and a safe time. 

“We have three more games at the Stadium of Light after this one this season, and we want people who come along to have a good experience and come back. 

“There’s a lot of learning and experience from the Merseyside derbies, which have both been played at Anfield and Goodison Park, and from Arsenal and Tottenham, who hosted the biggest-ever women’s game last season, and they have not experienced any issues.”

The previous competitive meeting between Sunderland and Newcastle United women was six years ago, when just 1200 fans turned up at the Stadium of Light for a cup match.

Since then the women’s game has grown hugely – boosted by England Lionesses’ 2022 Euros success with ex-Sunderland players Beth Mead and Jill Scott – and for the first time three North East clubs, who are all full-time, are competing for promotion to the WFL.

Last weekend, long-established Championship outfit Durham Women pulled off a surprise 1-0 win at Newcastle’s Kingston Park, and the Durham University-based team will host Sunderland next Sunday, which is expected to attract a sell-out crowd of more than 1000. 

In March, Durham will play at the Stadium of Light for the first time after last season’s game between the two sides at Eppleton Colliery Welfare attracted 1400 – then a record for the ground.

Newcastle have won two consecutive promotions since they came under the wing of their Saudi-backed owners three years ago, and have invested heavily in the team for this season.

Alex, who joined Sunderland from Durham FA three years ago, said this weekend’s fixture is an opportunity to enhance the game even further in the region.

He added: “What is massive is that this game has landed during a men's international break, so there’s no football on Saturday, and people might just want to come and get their football fix at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.

“Even before this game was announced, we’d had record season ticket sales at Eppleton, growing from 75 season ticket sales last season to more than 500.

“I think that shows the growth.

“It helps that the team has become full-time professionals, the price point was spot on and last season we had a good run at the league, got some really good crowds and people came along because it was entertaining and piqued their interest. 

“The women's game is unique, because a lot of players are familiar with each other and they’ve played for the different teams, so everyone knows their strengths and weaknesses.

“It should boil down to a really challenging and competitive game.

“Traditionally, we do see a lot of walk-up fans in the women’s game – people who open the curtains, see a nice day and think ‘I’ll go watch a game’ – and while the ticket office will be open, we would encourage people to purchase their tickets in advance.

“And the message is definitely get there early.

“Even the wording in the tunnel has been changed to say ‘Ha'way The Lasses’.

“We really have taken over the stadium for the day.”

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