Sunderland 1-1 (4-3) Durham Women: Lambourne penalty heroics earns Sunderland extra point
Sunderland Women claimed a penalty shoot-out win over Durham Women in the Subway League Cup on Sunday, after the match ended 1-1.
Emily Scarr’s goal gave Sunderland a deserved lead, however a free-kick from Beth Hepple levelled the game, before misses from Mariana Speckermaier and Lauren Briggs in the penalty shootout gave Sunderland the win.
WE WIN THE RIVER WEAR DERBY VIA A SHOOT-OUT! pic.twitter.com/9krZfvkKxW
— Sunderland AFC Women (@SAFCWomen) November 23, 2025
Sunderland went into the game off the back of a disappointing defeat to local rivals Newcastle in the WSL 2, while Durham had failed to win in their last five games.
A period of early control by Sunderland led to a couple of half chances, with an excellent ball by Keira Barry reaching the head of Scarr at the back post, but her header was just over.
Then, an effort from Katie Kitching from outside of the box didn’t trouble Anna King in goal.
It took a poor clearance from a Durham corner to create their first chance, as the ball is fizzed into the box and ended up at the feet of Abbie Grant, who managed to turn on the ball before striking it toward the goal with Demi Lambourne making a great reactionary save to turn it over the bar.
Yet, Sunderland kept control, as Scarr’s long run to the by-line behind the defence allowed her to square the ball to the sprinting Kitching, but her sliding effort was narrowly wide.
Sunderland’s dominance continued after the break, and the pressure finally mounted.
A well-timed run in behind the defence by Scarr left her one-on-one with King, before she calmly passed the ball into the corner.
The composure @SAFCWomen‘s Emily Scarr makes absolutely no mistakes to find the back of the net #SubwayWLC pic.twitter.com/PQsg3bIfMZ
— Barclays Women’s Super League (@BarclaysWSL) November 23, 2025
Scarr had the chance to double Sunderland’s lead five minutes later, when a well-timed tackle from Louise Griffiths on the edge of the box found Scarr in space, but her shot arrowed just wide.
But, Sunderland’s lead was broken with 20 minutes to play, when a brilliant free-kick by Hepple curled into the top corner rattling the post before going into the net.
Sunderland reacted well and Scarr had the chance to retake the lead, when Griffiths did well to win the ball on the edge of the box, before Scarr was given the ball just inside the box, but her shot arrowed wide of the bottom corner.
In the dying embers of the game, Scarr had the chance to win the game for Sunderland, when she was played in behind, but her shot was cleared on the line.
After all six perfect penalties, Speckermaier blazed her spot-kick over the bar, giving Sunderland the lead in the shootout, before Briggs’ effort was tame and well-saved by Lambourne – giving Sunderland the penalty shoot-out win.
Durham next play Ipswich in the WSL 2 on Sunday 7 December at 12:00, while Sunderland next play Nottingham Forest in the WSL 2 on Sunday 7 December at 2:00.
