After a two-week break from Championship action, which followed a sensational second half performance and 0-3 victory over Watford, the Lasses are in action today as Charlton visit Eppleton for the penultimate game of the season.
Some of our players took advantage of the international break to catch a bit of sun, with Katie Kitching taking another sojourn to the other side of the world to play for New Zealand and Liz Ejupi featuring for Kosovo against a Welsh team which included Ellen Jones and Mary McAteer.
Meanwhile, our young Lionesses, Grace Ede and Katy Watson, played for England U19s, who beat Italy and therefore qualified for the U19 Euros.
In other news. Grace McCatty announced her retirement from the game at the end of the campaign, having played six seasons for the Lasses. A commanding presence in defence who’s played well every time she’s been called upon this campaign, she’ll be sorely missed by fans, players and coaches alike.
During her pre-match press conference, Mel Reay called on the fans to spur on the side this Sunday after praising the efforts made by fan groups during recent games. You can watch the full conference here:
The Lasses should all be fully fit and raring to go against Charlton, so we can expect a full-strength side against a similarly measured opponent.
Earlier this season, the Lasses were able to take advantage of a Charlton error and grind out a draw in the 94th minute, courtesy of a Katy Watson tap-in.
Both sides are level for fewest goals conceded, at just seventeen apiece after twenty games, whereas Sunderland are ahead in the ‘goals scored’ column, with thirty one to Charlton’s twenty nine.
With Super League promotion at stake, expect both sides to be firing on all cylinders, and if Sunderland want to displace Crystal Palace on April 28, we’ll need to be the first side to defeat Charlton on their travels this season, which would be an impressive feat given they’ve lost only three games in total.
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Top-of-the-table Palace travel to Lewes’ ground, the Dripping Pan, in a game that the hosts would need to win to have a chance of staying out of the relegation zone. Assuming that Palace and the Lasses both win today, the final game of the season would be a title decider at Selhurst Park.
The club has generously offered to lay on a subsidized bus for away fans to travel to London, and will announce the final details after today’s game.
Elsewhere, The Sunderland Women’s Supporters Group will be holding a raffle with three prizes- a signed women’s team shirt and signed match balls from the men’s and women’s teams- up for grabs.
Fans will be able to purchase tickets for the raffle next to the flag display at Eppleton, and it’ll be cash only.
Haway the Lasses!