Harland happy with derby win

And United Women full-back Jane Harland praised the determination of Becky Langley's side to surmount their latest challenge.

Harland said: "It feels brilliant to have won. We had a lot of issues thrown our way and a lot of problems to solve but credit to everyone for working so hard to get the vital three points. There's no feeling like it."

The two sides were level as the match entered its closing stages, with Grace Ayre netting an equaliser for the hosts after Kacie Elson opened the scoring.

But with just four minutes to play, Barker latched on to Rosie Missen's flick and smashed the ball into the roof of the net to seal the three points for Langley's squad.

Reacting to Barker's last-gasp goal, Harland expressed her delight. "The late winner was crucial," she said. "Durham tested us a little, but we did well to ride it out. (We had to) just wait for our chance, and we knew it would come. With Durham being a local derby, it's always nice to get that win."

Match-winner Barker has been in inspired form for the Lady Magpies this season, and Harland explained how vital the number nine's goalscoring is to the success of the team.

She said: "(Barker) is excellent. Having someone you trust to take the chances in the big moments is massive and it gives everyone a huge boost. It's not luck that she scores so many goals - her work ethic, passion and determination is something that everyone loves about her."

In recent weeks, Harland has become an integral part of Langley's defence, having made the left-back spot her own, and she expressed her gratitude to the United Women boss for the opportunity.

"Being back in the starting line-up is something I will never take for granted," Harland said. "I am delighted to be back starting and hopefully by training hard and always doing my job I will be able to retain the spot."

Next weekend the Lady Magpies travel to Lancashire to face Chorley Women, who currently sit sixth in FAWNL Division One North and Harland hopes that Newcastle Women can continue their current momentum.

She said: "Our next game against Chorley will be another game where we look to push on. This week's win will hopefully boost us in training and give us confidence to know that we can always dig deep and push that little bit extra.

"We dropped two points to them in September, so we'll be looking to collect all three this Sunday."

Photograph courtesy of Colin Lock/@Tyneside_NUWFC