Sheffield United Women and Newcastle United Women shared points with a 1-1 draw in a special night of tributes at Bramall Lane.
Before the game, players and staff from both sides stood in arms for a minute of silence to celebrate the life of Amelia Aplin, the 15-year-old goalkeeper who passed away while playing for Oxford United Academy.
The 6 pm kick-off at Bramall Lane was also a designated “Unite for Access” matchday of the Women’s Super League promoting accessible matchdays for fans with disability.
A fixture with substantial value was matched with an excellent display of football.
Newcastle United came out firing after the starting whistle from referee Joe Moss. Jordan Nobbs’ speedy run and Emily Murphy’s technicality inside the box forced Sheffield United’s Sian Rogers to make some excellent saves.
In the coming minutes, the lasses from Newcastle applied continuous pressure high up the pitch to prevent Sheffield United’s build-up.
This effort forced a few sloppy turnovers from Charlie Devlin, but they all went unpunished. Newcastle United did put the ball in the back of the net, but the referees already stopped the play because of a foul.
Facing an energetic high press, Stephen Healy had to make changes. Sheffield United turned to spraying direct long balls to speedy wingers, and it worked wonders.
Amy Andrews was terrorising that left-hand side the whole game, turning Charlotte Wardlow inside out. Her dribbles and cut-insides created plenty of goal-scoring opportunities and set-pieces for the Blades.
Andrews even came close to opening the scoreline but was denied by Anna Tamminen in the one-on-one following a good ball over the top by Joy Ralph.
But she wasn’t going to be left regretful for long. Off a freekick on the left wing, centre-half Simone Sherwood volleyed the ball into the back of the net from close range in the 44th minute. A deserved lead for the Blades.
When many fans believed Sheffield United would hold the advantage going into the break, Newcastle United levelled things up in the stoppage time.
It was Nobbs with a cross, again finding Murphy who controlled it perfectly to skip pass a defender before low-driving it into the net. The ball was slightly deflected giving Rogers no chance.
The travelling Newcastle fans were absolutely buzzing with that goal, as they chanted “Emily’s on fire”.
The second half was the same story. Sheffield United tried to play through the creativity of Joy Ralph and Amy Andrews.
The duo created numerous chances but failed to break the deadlock. Andrews hit an amazing curler from outside the box but the fingertips of the Magpies’ goalie said no.
Connie Scofield came on in the 62nd minute. And just minutes after featuring, she almost scored what could have been a goal of the season contender.
Off another freekick, Scofield whipped a first-touch finish flying past Tamminen, only to be marginally denied by the goal post.
On the flip side, Newcastle United were generally ineffective facing the stern centre-back duo of Sherwood and Reavill. An outstanding display from the two young stars as they not only denied all threats from the opposition but also played a solid role in dictating the tempo and finding the open runner.
The biggest goal opportunity of the remaining minutes came to waste when Ralph skied a half-volley following Andrews’ pass.
The Blades claimed a crucial point to stay above the relegation zone, but they have the case to expect more. A fantastic shift from Healy’s girls, only to be denied victory by a bit of luck.
As for Newcastle, they missed the chance to break into the top three.
