Ahead of a titanic derby this weekend, Sunderland’s Fran Stenson and Newcastle’s Charlotte Wardlaw spoke to The Halfway Line.
The Barclays Women’s Super League is not the only league where the top two will meet this weekend, the WSL 2 will play host to the Tyne-Wear derby with table topping Newcastle travelling to second placed Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Prior ‘El Lassico’ as it has been lovingly dubbed both Fran Stenson and Charlotte Wardlaw sat down with The Halfway Line to talk one of football’s biggest rivalries.
The Sunderland perspective: Fran Stenson
Sunderland are yet to beat Newcastle in the Barclays Women’s Super League 2 however they also have yet to face their fierce rivals with Fran Stenson between the sticks. To add to that Sunderland did win when the sides met in the Subway Players Cup last month. Stenson was asked about her perspective on the rivalry with Newcastle,
“I think that was one of the first stories I heard” Stenson explained. “[It] was last season, [just] how many fans came to both home and away for us, especially against Newcastle.
“It’s definitely a game that you want to play in and be part of hopefully this year we can get even more fans. And look, you’ve got two teams that are investing, and it should be a really good game for the fans to come along to and watch. And hopefully we can get a big crowd there.”
Almost all the pre-season predictions had Newcastle finishing top of the WSL 2 with precious few featuring Sunderland. So far Sunderland are doing everything they can to defy that, The Halfway Line asked Stenson if that gives Sunderland extra motivation? To be the fly in the ointment for their neighbours,
“Yeah, definitely, obviously they’re our rivals” Stenson affirmed, “But no, if that’s what the outside is saying, then feel free to say that. We know inside what we’re gonna do and our job, and we’ll do everything in our power to do it.
“And yeah, who doesn’t love to upset someone? Especially across the water, or whatever you say, I don’t need to know. But no, look, like I said, we know what we want to do, and the outside world, you can crack on to say whatever you want. But no, let’s hope that we can cause a little bit of a change.”
The Newcastle perspective: Charlotte Wardlaw
Wardlaw has had a promising start to the season finding the net against Leicester City to get off the mark for Newcastle this term. Her Newcastle side are currently flying high at the top of the division but what does the prospect of a derby against Sunderland make her feel,
“Derby games show your character” Wardlaw said. “I think for me, a game like that is something I thrive in, and a bit of the rivalry and the maybe the darker side of the game of how tense it can get.
“So I think I’m personally looking forward to those games. I think every game’s really crucial for us, like the WSL 2 is so competitive. You’ve got to take every game like it’s like a derby game, really.”
Wardlaw was asked if as a professional you prepare differently for a derby game, than any other match,
“No, I think we know how intense the derby game is, so we try and take that away from it” Wardlaw thoughtfully explained. “So we we just see it as at the end of the day, we need to get three points regardless of the opposition.
“So we appreciate how important that fixture is to the city. So we know that that’s something we need to make sure we make our city proud, but I think we prepare for it the exact same as like any other other game in the season.
“I’ve played I think two of them at St James’s already, and yeah, it’s electric and it’s a game that everyone looks for when you see the fixture list. I think everyone is already really excited for that.”
For Wardlaw, the end goal this season is undeniable,
“To get promoted… to win the league” Wardlaw said with steely determination.
Where can I watch Fran Stenson vs Charlotte Wardlaw; Sunderland vs Newcastle?
You can watch Fran Stenson and Charlotte Wardlaw face off when Sunderland host Newcastle on Sunday live on the WSL Youtube channel, the match kicks off at 2pm.
