London City Lionesses closed the gap at the top of the Barclays Women’s Championship after fellow promotion contenders Birmingham City dropped points.
The Bromley-based outfit produced a dominant 4-0 win over bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United while current league leaders Birmingham were held to a 1-1 draw at Charlton Athletic after being stung by a late equaliser.
Newcastle United edged local rivals Sunderland 1-0 in the Tyne-Wear derby to claim Northeast bragging rights and also leapfrog them in the table.
Portsmouth moved closer away from the drop zone with a 0-0 draw away at Southampton while Blackburn Rovers earned a precious point in their own relegation battle with a 1-1 draw at home to Bristol City.
Lionesses on the prowl
London City Lionesses gave their promotion ambitions a massive boost with a ruthless 4-0 victory over the division’s bottom side Sheffield United at Hayes Lane.
The result, coupled with Birmingham’s draw with Charlton, means the gap at the top of the table has been cut to just one point by Jocelyn Precheur’s side, who have played a game less than Blues.
That. Second. Half. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/CZlsDmiDJk
— London City Lionesses (@LC_Lionesses) March 23, 2025
Goals from Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah, Kosovare Asllani, Grace Neville and Georgia Brougham sealed the statement win against a Blades team who struggled to compete.
Lionesses took the game to their opponents from the off and were rewarded when Boye-Hlorkah smashed home from outside the box after 19 minutes.
Asllani doubled the home side’s lead just before half-time with her fifth goal of the season after fellow Swede Sofia Jakobsson did well in the build-up.
The goal of the game belonged to Neville as she found the net with an extraordinary chip from 35 yards soon after the restart.
Brougham completed the scoring with a sumptuous finish in the top-right corner to cap off an exceptional performance from the hosts.
The Blades are now two points from safety after both Portsmouth and Blackburn picked up a point in their games.
Birmingham feel the Blues
Birmingham City saw their lead at the top of the table slashed to just one point after their four-match winning run came to an end with a 1-1 draw away to third-place Charlton Athletic.
With London City Lionesses breathing down their necks, Blues were left to rue a late equaliser from Melisa Filis after Lee Geum-Min opened the scoring.
After a bright start from Amy Merricks’ side, Lee broke the deadlock after 14 minutes when the South Korean was played in by her compatriot Yu-Ri Choe and fired home from inside the penalty area.
An phenomenal counter attacking goal from @CAFCWomen 😮💨pic.twitter.com/w8yDvLswm3
— Barclays Women’s Championship (@BarclaysWC) March 23, 2025
All three points looked set to be travelling back to the West Midlands as the game moved into injury time but, after a driving run, Addicks’ Gloria Siber found Filis who levelled the match and dented the visitors’ promotion bid.
The point sees Charlton remain in third, one point ahead of Durham.
Newcastle win derby in front of record crowd
Newcastle United won the Tyne-Wear derby 1-0 thanks to a Shania Hayles goal which sees the Magpies move above the Black Cats in the table.
After a goalless first 45 minutes, the league’s joint-top goal scorer Hayles bagged her 10th strike of the season with 13 minutes remaining.
The Jamaican international cut in and cooly slotted the ball home at the near post after Emily Murphy had carried the ball from deep.
Things we love to see on derby day! 📸🖤🤍 pic.twitter.com/xzbqt2pJSp
— Newcastle United Women (@NUFCWomen) March 23, 2025
The goal proved to be the only one of a match that was watched by more than 38,000 people on a record-breaking occasion at St James’ Park.
A NEW #BarclaysWC RECORD ATTENDANCE HAS BEEN SET! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/cWZtWJBrX7
— Barclays Women’s Championship (@BarclaysWC) March 23, 2025
Sunderland slip to seventh after the defeat but with games in hand on those above them, Newcastle will have eyes on third spot in the table come the end of the season.
Blackburn and Pompey both pick up an important point
Blackburn Rovers produced a battling performance on Saturday to come away from their clash with Bristol City at Ewood Park with a point which helps their fight against relegation.
After a goalless first half, Tyler Toland found the back of the net on 52 minutes with a bending strike into the top corner.
The away side struck back just after the hour mark however as Ffion Morgan guided Cecilie Struck’s cross across goal into the corner with a lovely header.
Nodding home the equaliser. 👏
🎯 @ffion_morgan1 pic.twitter.com/JRxDZjGq7i
— Bristol City Women (@bristolcitywfc) March 23, 2025
Both teams chased a winner, but the game finished 1-1.
In Saturday’s other fixture, Southampton and Portsmouth played out a goalless draw at St. Mary’s.
Each team has chances but were unable to find a way through, but Pompey will be happy with the point as it gives them a three-point cushion over Sheffield United.
