Lady Mags at London City – Making their point | OneFootball

Newcastle United Women played their first game in the Championship on Sunday and came away from their long trip to Bromley with a hard earned point, against London City Lionesses in front of a 1,781 crowd.

Backed by a vocal travelling contingent, many of United’s fans were lucky to be there at all, given various travel disruptions leading up to kick off.

The most straightforward part of the journey was the 15 minute walk from Bromley South station to Hayes Lane, situated in the town’s leafy suburbs within Norman Park and next to Bromley Common.

The stadium wasn’t that much different to Kingston Park. The west side looked very familiar in fact and housed The John Fiorini Stand with plenty of Black and White shirts in the open terraces either side of it. Opposite was another terrace which backed onto the local cricket pitch, with the team dug outs just in front of it.

Behind the South goal was the modern looking Glyn Beverly Stand which was packed with Newcastle fans, who must have surely outnumbered their hosts by 10-to-1. The opposite goal was also terraced with a small stand in one corner and a Nuffield Gym looming over it from the other.

London City have only been around since 2019, when they broke away from parent club Millwall and opted to go independent. They only narrowly avoided relegation from the Championship last season but have overseen a major overhaul during the summer.

American businesswoman Michele Kang, who already owns Washington Spirit in the States and Olympique Lyonnais Feminin in France, purchased the club, ushering in a £50 million investment plan. Jocelyn Precheur was quickly appointed manager from PSG, while the club moved from their previous home of Princes Park in Dartford to a new groundsharing agreement with Bromley FC.

However, perhaps the biggest statement of intent was that of the signing of Swedish captain Kosavare Asllani, who brings a wealth of experience with her after stints with Man City, Real Madrid and AC Milan.

Both sides created chances early into the game, with right back Lia Cataldo creating Newcastle’s best effort when setting up winger Shania Hayles, whose effort was deflected wide.

It would be Newcastle though who took the lead on 20 minutes after Hayles, who took a heavy touch initially, slotted past Emily Orman in the London City goal following good work from Jasmine McQuade in the build-up.

The Lady Mags held that lead until five minutes before half time when a great exchange of passes between Finnish forward Lotta Lindstrom and Asllani saw the latter finish emphatically to level the scores. Newcastle’s defence were caught flat-footed and it was a reminder they won’t get things all their own way this season. The goal had been coming, with Lindstrom having struck the left post just before with a previous attempt.

Newcastle could have still gone in ahead at the break when moments after giving up that equaliser they had a golden opportunity to score. The ball dropped to Hayles once again from a corner who had two attempts to steer the ball into an empty net but couldn’t get a much needed connection on it.

The game had its moments of physicality, and following a third booking for the home side, their fans suddenly found their voice by singing “The referee’s a Magpie.” Perhaps the referee was a bit card happy with eight yellows shown, but overall, I think she got most of the decisions correct.

The most disappointing moment came in the final couple of minutes when London City defender Teyah Goldie earned herself and United’s substitute Isobel Sibley a booking after confronting the Newcastle debutant, before going through a dying swan routine. We may have stepped up a level in quality but with it sadly comes professional play-acting too.

Both sides seemed happy to take home a point from the opening game but both did have chances to win in it late on. London City substitute Isobel Goodwin looked lively when coming on and very nearly scored after pouncing on a back pass, but she was denied by a last-ditch block from Charlotte Potts, with an open goal begging. Goodwin would test United goalie Claudia Moan again soon after, while Elysia Boddy fired a shot which narrowly cleared the bar from distance.

In the end it was probably a fair result and one that Newcastle United Women (ED: Pictured above celebrating pre-season when beating AC Milan) can build on from here. They are next in action when they play their home opener on Sunday 22nd September against Sheffield United at Kingston Park, 2pm Kick-off.

Newcastle United Women: Claudia Moan, Lia Cataldo (Lois Joel 69), Deanna Cooper, Charlotte Potts, Demi Stokes, Katie Barker, Elysia Boddy, Rachel Furness (Amber-Keegan Stobbs 46), Shannia Hayles (Sophie Haywood 63), Jasmine McQaude (Isabella Sibley 69), Amy Andrews (Beth Lumsden 85).