SSFC Women host Cestrians in 'top of the table' clash

South Shields Women host Chester-le-Street Town Ladies this Sunday in what will be a clash between the top two sides in the NERWFL Premier Division (2pm kick-off).

The game, set to be played at Harton Welfare, should be an exciting one given the two teams’ strong starts to the season - both are undefeated in all competitions so far, so the stakes couldn’t be higher. 

Shields would go top of the division after six games played with a victory, although a result of any kind would be welcomed given the Cestrians' quality.

They head into this weekend’s fixture off the back of a 4-0 win against Stockton Town Ladies in the DCFA Women’s Cup, with goals from Jenny Ashton, Harriet Sutton, Isla Baxter and Molly Wilcock being enough to send them through to the third round. 

The Mariners, meanwhile, had a week off and they will want to replicate their performance against FC United of Manchester Women in the Women’s FA Cup, a fortnight ago.

Alex’s thoughts

Head coach Alex Miller reflected on the season up to this point, after last weekend’s gap in the schedule afforded her the time to have a breather, ahead of the busy run-in before Christmas. 

“It’s never great having a gap when you’ve built up quite a decent bit of momentum,” she explained earlier this week.

“But at the same time, it is good for the lasses to have a rest; it’s good for us to get a chance to reflect and look back [at] how far we’ve come in a short space of [time] this season.

“And see what we’ve done well, see bits that we need to improve on and get the girls together and have a bit of a chat about that, when you haven’t got the pressure of a game at the weekend looming over you.”

Josie's thoughts

Josie Foster spoke to us this week to preview the top of the table clash at the weekend.

"I’m really looking forward to playing CLS," she shared.

"We’ve not played them yet and it’ll be a massive challenge for us.

"But as a team we’re excited, and I think we’re going into the game with the best form we’ve been in for a couple of seasons now.

"We’ve had a really hard couple of months with challenging games but we’ve worked hard, played together and also got the results which is a bonus!"

Information for supporters

Kick-off at Harton Welfare (NE34 0NA) is at 2pm this Sunday, October 27th. 

Admission is free and the bar will be open throughout the afternoon. 

It is a really big game for the lasses and any support you could offer would be appreciated!