“It’s really special”: Newcastle United Women interim boss speaks after derby day delight at St James’ Park.

Newcastle United interim boss Claire Ditchburn admitted she was “pleased” with her sides performance following a 3-1 win against Sunderland in the WSL2 at St James’ Park this afternoon.

Newcastle secured all three points in the Tyne-Wear derby and Magpies boss Claire Ditchburn spoke about her delight at her sides performance, particularly in the second half.

She said: “We are pleased, obviously would have liked it to have been perfect nine from nine [under Ditchburn] but this is a challenging league so seven points from nine gives us a platform to continue to build and grow”

“It was really important, we definitely didn’t shy away from that in the build up, the girls faced and embraced the challenge on the pitch.

Anna Tamminen had a memorable debut, stopping Sunderland taking a 1-0 lead from the penalty spot. Ditchburn described her as “so cool, calm and collected and takes it all in her stride, I thought it was an outstanding debut and the penalty save was a real game changing moment, she did really well.”

After going into the break a goalless draw, her half-time talk received a lot of praise to turn the game around, as Claire Ditchburn admitted she “knew it would be a frustrating game, derbies are games with minimal chances so it was important that we maximised the chances we had.

“We knew the game would start to open up more in the second half, so it wasn’t a message of changing too much, we tweaked one or two things but it was about keeping our heads and continuing in the same manner”.

Following this afternoons victory, The Magpies moved up to 4th in the WSL2, sitting three points away from play-offs to the WSL. The ambitious Newcastle side, having been promoted twice in the last three campaigns, are no strangers to fighting for the higher opportunities.

The boss stated that: “It is a crazy league to be honest, if I was a spectator I would love to watch it but it is hard to be apart of because it is so unpredictable but we continue to move upwards and that is the most important part.”

She continued that the win was “a massive momentum builder for us, so it is stepping stones and we won’t get carried away but it is a really good platform to build on.”

“It feels brilliant, it does feel good when you walk around the stadium at the end and you see everybody is delighted, it is a real honour to be honest, it is a privilege to be in that position and a memory that will probably live with me for the rest of my life, its really special.”

The Tyne and Wear derbies have accumulated all of the top three attendances in the WSL2 this season, proving the passion for the clubs in the North East. Ditchburn thinks: “they are great events, I think you have to be in and around the stadium before, during and after the game they are fantastic events and I think everyone who comes raves about it, the atmosphere, the product on the pitch so it is really good if we can continue that trend and keep growing and building the women’s game as well football in the North East.”