Sunderland head coach Carlton Fairweather believes his team have laid down a marker for the FA WSL 1 season after an opening night 2-1 win at champions Liverpool.
After Beth Mead opened the scoring, ex-Everton star Brooke Chaplen doubled Sunderland's advantage from the penalty spot before Satara Murray hit back to set up a grandstand finish.
Liverpool 1-2 Sunderland
FA WSL 1
Select Security Stadium
Wednesday 25 March 2015
But Fairweather's newly promoted team held firm for three valuable points.
He said: “The girls have done really well and set a standard which they now need to keep going into the next game, which will be another challenge against Manchester City.
“The ladies have worked really well. They’ve worked really hard from a technical and tactical point of view.
“It’s a fantastic result but at the same time you have to give credit to Liverpool. They have pushed us all the way and caused us problems but the girls have held up really well.
Abby Holmes goes for a loose ball with Gemma Bonner
“I’ve come in during the summer but we’ve continued with the playing philosophy that is used throughout the academy and first team.
"We’ve got a good nucleus of players from previous years and all we’ve done is add three or four players for the start of the season who have come in and gelled really well.
WSL 1 champions Liverpool were left stunned, but manager Matt Beard believes it is far too early in the season for any kneejerk reactions.
“It was not an ideal start but we’ve got 13 league games still to play so it’s not going to be all doom and gloom,” said Beard.
Rachel Furness is held back by Fara Williams and Satara Murray
“We can’t afford to lose many more now – the stats tell us that if we want to win the league – but it is what it is.
“We’ve not had maybe some of the luck we deserved but at the same time we’ve switched off for the first goal, which is disappointing.
"We’ve then hit the bar twice and they’ve gone up the other end and got a penalty.
“Sometimes the luck’s with you and sometimes it’s not. We just needed to be a little more composed and maybe it would have been a different result.
“There’s plenty more we could have done. We could have made some better decisions in the final third, we’ve snatched at a few chances and they are the fine margins you live by at the top level. We’ve now just got to turn those negative into more positives.
Beard added: “It’s not complacency from our behalf. We had some good passages of play, we’ve created good chances but to be fair they’ve caused us problems going forward.
"At the top level there’s no easy games and we’ve seen if you switch off for that one moment you will get punished.”
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Liverpool: (3-5-2): Stout; Bonner, Murray, Schroder; Ryland, Williams, Zelem (Smorsgard 79), Oshoala (Staniforth 73), Harris (Pacheco 88); Dowie, Rolser.
Goal: Murray 82
Subs not used: Gibbons, Longhurst, Easton, Dale.
Sunderland: (4-3-3): Laws; Holmes, Bannon, Sharp, V.Williams; Furness (S.Williams 66), McFadden, Chaplen; Ramshaw, Mead, Joice (McDougall 78).
Subs not used: Harkness, Greenwood, Gutteridge, Bass, Kelly.
Goals: Mead 28, Chaplen 76
Bookings: McFadden 85
Attendance: 1,014
Referee: J.Simms
