The Lasses got off to a bright start when Charlotte Wardlaw popped up in the box before slamming home her first goal for the club.

Leicester managed to stay in the game heading into the second half, but two quickfire goals after the break from Martha Thomas put the game beyond the Foxes at a soaked Gateshead International Stadium.

However, the best of the bunch was saved for Aoife Mannion deep into second-half added time when she reacted quickest to a bouncing ball and looped it over her head and beyond Katie Keane, with the centre-back then pulling out a perfect knee slide to celebrate.

There were also debuts for both Jessie Gale and Hanna Németh, who came on as substitutes towards the end of the second half for Tanya Oxtoby’s side.

United looked to put down a marker at home early on with Lumsden causing problems down the left by riding three tackles before the ball fell to McGovern in the six-yard box, but with Leicester bodies crowding her out, she was forced to wildly swipe at the effort over the bar.

Katie Bradley looked destined to open her account for Newcastle with just ten minutes on the clock after receiving the ball on the half turn and opening up space in the box, but could only drag her effort wide of Keane's far post.

However, United's pressure finally paid off just two minutes later as Wardlaw popped up to score her first goal for the club since joining in January 2024. Lambert fired the ball towards the edge of the box for McGovern, who could only slice her effort backwards, but it fell to Wardlaw in the box and after a fortunate rebound off a defender, she made no mistake in firing her effort in off the post.

The end of the first half saw Leicester enjoying possession but doing little to threaten Anna Tamminen's goal, with Newcastle looking dangerous on the counter-attack down the wing with Lumsden.

Coming out for the second half, Newcastle were roaring once again. A wicked delivery from Bradley saw Keane stick out a leg and deny McGovern from close range, but the ball only went as far as the on-rushing Torpey.

She was at the same distance as last week when she scored, and with more power behind her shot, it looked destined for the back of the net, only for Keane to get back to her feet and use an outstretched leg to deny the Australian.

While not offering much in the final third, Araya Dennis opened up the United defence with an outside-of-the-boot pass to former Magpies loanee Poppy Pritchard, but while her curling effort looked to have beaten Tamminen, she managed to stick out a hand and tip the ball around her far post.

Oxtoby's side got their reward just after the hour mark, and it was Thomas who got her name on the scoresheet. Substitute Jordan Nobbs was the architect of the goal as she slid to reach the ball in the box and pick out Thomas in the middle, and then the Scottish international glanced a header into the far corner.

United began to run riot at the GIS, and it was Thomas causing Leicester backline problems. A stunning through ball from Lumsden, who was in her own half, managed to pick out the number 17, who raced through before chopping onto her right foot in the box and sending Keane the wrong way before slotting home.

United were cruising at 3-0, keeping the ball and moving the Foxes around in wet and windy conditions. With Thomas on her second brace in two weeks at home, she was looking to go one better, and if not for a world-class save from Keane with two minutes to go, her strike from 25 yards out would have found the far corner.

While Thomas was denied another goal for the afternoon, Mannion was not. With pretty much the final action of the game, Keane mistimed a punch from a corner which bounced off the bar to Mannion, and with the centre-back having her back to goal, she pulled off a great overhead kick to round off the scoring.

Newcastle United Women: Anna Tamminen, Charlotte Wardlaw (Hanna Németh 82), Jemma Purfield (c), Kathleen McGovern (Jordan Nobbs 55), Mollie Lambert (Leanne Kiernan 82), Hildur Antonsdóttir (Lois Joel 75), Martha Thomas, Kaitlyn Torpey, Katie Bradley, Aoife Mannion, Beth Lumsden (Jessie Gale 82)

Subs not used: Kayla Rendell, Freya Gregory, Oona Sevenius, Gemma Evans