Spraggon satisfied by significant cup win over York

Georgina Spraggon opened the scoring for the Lady Magpies, before goals from Rachel Lee and Georgia Gibson ensured that Becky Langley's side went into the hat for the next round.

Reacting to the win, Spraggon - who entered the fray as a 56th-minute substitute and broke the deadlock seven minutes later - admitted that whilst the result was huge, Newcastle Women weren't at their best for the full 90 minutes.

She said: "The first half wasn't our best performance. We had a few good spells but at times our play was poor. We got the win that we needed, but I think all of the girls will agree, we are capable of performing better.

"We never gave up trying to play our own game. Our attitude is the key reason why we came out on top. In cup games sometimes it's about just getting the result, and we are absolutely delighted to be in the hat for the next round."

In addition, teenager Spraggon was thrilled to get on the scoresheet for the third time this season. "I'm over the moon," she said. "I love scoring for this club - getting the first goal of the game makes it feel even better, because it seemed to have a positive impact on the entire team, and our performance improved from that point."

United Women went into the fixture against York City Ladies in brilliant form, having beaten Norton & Stockton Ancients Ladies 4-2 in the FA Women's National League Division One North last time out.

However, their hosts also entered the fixture in high spirits, having not lost a game in the North East Regional Women's League all season and Spraggon outlined how vital it was that the Lady Magpies halted their opponents' momentum.

"York were in great form for this game, so we knew it was going to be a huge battle," said the Lady Magpies' number 17. "It was massive for us that we overcame this challenge, and the win brings us great confidence going into our next game."

Spraggon also outlined her aims for the Vitality Women's FA Cup this season. "We want to get as far as possible," she added. "It would be great to get into the draw when the big clubs come in, and to have the opportunity to test ourselves against these sides.

"We aim to take one game at a time and put everything into every single match. We will fight as hard for cup games as we do for league games, and hopefully we can go far."

Looking ahead, Newcastle United Women's next fixture is not until Sunday, 7th November, when they face Brighouse Town Women in the FA Women's National League Cup.

With an extra week of preparation, Spraggon explained which areas she feels the Lady Magpies will look to improve on for this fixture.

She said: "We need to be more consistent over the full 90 minutes. We came to life in the latter stages of the match against York, but it took too long for us to settle into the game.

"I can't fault the girls' attitude - we never gave up and the resilience we showed to improve in the second half and get the win is something we aim to carry into all of our games."

Photograph courtesy of Colin Lock/@Tyneside_NUWFC