London City Lionesses took pole position in the Barclays Women’s Championship title race with a 2-1 defeat of Newcastle United while Charlton Athletic held off Sunderland in a seven-goal thriller.
Elsewhere, an Aimee Claypole hat-trick helped Durham to a 6-0 rout of Portsmouth and Bristol City defeated Southampton 3-0 while a Jemma Purfield own goal proved the difference between Blackburn Rovers and Southampton.
Lionesses lead the way
London City Lionesses moved to the summit of the league standings with a professional 2-1 defeat of Newcastle United.
The Lionesses needed just three minutes to open the scoring, Isobel Goodwin breaking the deadlock with a well-taken strike from the edge of the box.
Beth Lumsden replied back just after the half-hour mark when she latched onto Emily Murphy’s pass to coolly slot the ball into the net.
But the away side extended their advantage, Sofia Jakobsson artfully cutting in from the left before rifling an effort beyond the reach of Newcastle keeper Claudia Moan.
The result sees the Lionesses move two points clear of closest challengers Birmingham City, who did not play this weekend.
We hold on to take three points back to the capital from Newcastle, which see’s us move to the TOP of the @BarclaysWC 🤩🔝 pic.twitter.com/VfEWGmMHpb
— London City Lionesses (@LC_Lionesses) March 30, 2025
Addicks top seven-goal thriller
Charlton Athletic survived a late scare from a surging Sunderland in a seven-goal thriller, triumphing 4-3 away from home.
Ellie Brazil and Jodie Hutton each bagged a brace to see Charlton ease into the break with a comfortable four-goal cushion.
Yet Sunderland refused to give in and pulled one back when Natasha Fenton’s free-kick whizzed beyond Addicks keeper Sophie Whitehouse on 58 minutes.
Mary McAteer followed suit two minutes later when her strike deflected off the far post and into the back of the net before Ellen Jones held her nerve from the spot to cut the deficit to one.
But that would be as good as it got for her side, with Charlton hanging on to clinch all three points.
Three points on the road 💪 pic.twitter.com/vFN4c8VoA7
— Charlton Athletic Women (@CAFCWomen) March 30, 2025
Rovers squeeze past Saints
Blackburn Rovers had an own goal to thank for their 1-0 win over Southampton at Ewood Park.
The hosts enjoyed the better of proceedings early on, Tia Primmer and Ellie Noble forcing saves from Fran Stenson, while Chloe Williams rifled a long-range strike over the bar.
Down the other end of the pitch, Laila Harbert fired away from the edge of the box, only to see Noble block her strike to send both sets of teams into the break level.
Rovers finally broke the deadlock on 58 minutes when Purfield deflected Edwards’ cross into her own net and the hosts came close to adding a second with 10 minutes left on the clock when Ellie Hack headed over the bar.
The visitors seemed set to equalise when Aimee Palmer’s low drive beat Rovers keeper Alexandra Brooks, only for her 25-yard effort to whistle past the post.
😀 Three points, a clean sheet and back to winning ways!
🙌 A brilliant team effort to earn an important victory. Thank you for your support at Ewood today! #Rovers 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/XPfONxKZpC
— Blackburn Rovers WFC (@RoversWFC) March 29, 2025
Bristol brush aside the Blades
Goals from Ffion Morgan and Tianna Teisar helped Bristol City breeze past Sheffield United 3-0.
City broke the deadlock just ahead of the break when Mari Ward sent the ball across the face of the goal for Morgan to tap home.
The Wales international then turned provider when she squared it to Teisar for an easy finish moments later with the last action of the first half.
The restart saw the duo immediately pick up where they left off, Morgan taking advantage of a loose ball before laying it off for Teisar whose shot went in off Leanne Cowan.
Three points at Ashton Gate! 😍
🤝 @TheEcoScheme pic.twitter.com/YE4Rcc8Wrp
— Bristol City Women (@bristolcitywfc) March 30, 2025
Durham demolish Pompey
Aimee Claypole’s hat-trick saw Durham put six unanswered goals past strugglers Portsmouth.
Durham set the tone just 14 minutes into proceedings when Claypole put her side in front before Sarah Wilson followed with a goal of her own five minutes later.
The second half saw things go from bad to worse for Pompey, with Claypole scoring two in as many minutes to clinch her hat-trick.
With Durham assured of all three points, Carly Johns and Eleanor Ryan-Doyle then put the finishing touches on the result late in stoppage time.
WINNING SUNDAYS AT MAIDEN CASTLE!🤩🤩🤩#DurhamWFC pic.twitter.com/8ZC25qd86n
— Durham Women FC (@DurhamWFC) March 30, 2025
