Amy Andrews and Martha Thomas were cast in their familiar roles as goalscoring protagonists as the pair fired Sheffield United and Newcastle United to handsome victories over Durham and Leicester City in a dramatic matchweek four of the Barclays Women’s Super League 2.
Elsewhere, in a match which brought controversial goals at either end, Ipswich Town received further acclaim after coming from behind to beat the in-form Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Sunderland continued to travel well by securing maximum points from their trip to Watford.
Matchweek four also brought plenty of firsts as Bristol City picked up a maiden clean sheet of the season, Leah Galton and Jessie Gale made their eagerly-awaited debuts for Burnley and Newcastle, while Freya Jupp and Vera Jones opened their goalscoring accounts for Southampton and Watford.
Burnley 0-0 Bristol City
In the opening game of matchweek four, Burnley and Bristol City met for the very first time on Saturday afternoon, sharing the spoils at a sunny Turf Moor as the two sides traded punches without either of them finding a knockout blow.
Looking to respond from what manager Jackie Bachteler described as a “wake-up call” against Wolves last time out, Burnley were gifted an early sight on goal when Charley Docherty forced a good save from City goalkeeper Fran Bentley, who atoned for her wayward pass in the lead up.
City meanwhile were aiming for back-to-back wins after beating Watford in their last fixture, but they passed up the best chance of the game after 24 minutes when Rio Hardy headed over from close range, the hat-trick heroine from last week failing to make the most of a brilliant cross from captain Emily Syme.
Combining beautifully with Maria Farrugia on the left flank, Syme picked out Hardy with another superb cross on the hour mark, but this time the striker saw her trickling effort cleared off the line by Burnley’s homegrown star Naomi Hartley.
Buoyed by that defensive resilience, Burnley started to flex their muscles going forward, with the excellent Emma Siddall flying forward from right wing-back while substitutes Charlie Wellings and Leah Galton added plenty of energy.
However, the Clarets were unable to find a late winner as they collected their first home point of the new season, while Charlotte Healy’s City were left to rue a lack of killer instinct in the final third having had 20 shots in total.
Watford 1-2 Sunderland
For the second time this season, Sunderland picked up three points on the road as they edged past a spirited Watford side to stay second in the BWSL2 table and maintain their unbeaten start to the campaign.
After downing Burnley in their first away fixture of the season, the happy travellers were looking to keep the momentum going at Vicarage Road but they were forced to do so without in-form winger Katy Watson who was absent from the squad.
However, Sunderland boss Mel Reay had a clever plan and it involved deploying Katie Kitching on the right and Atlanta Primus as a No. 10, and the two caused havoc as the visitors raced into a two-goal lead after 28 minutes.
Primus and Kitching were involved in the buildup to Elise Hughes tapping home for her third goal in four games, which came 10 minutes after Sanni Franssi bagged for the Lasses after latching onto a superb cross from Tess Laplacette.
After weathering the Sunderland storm which continued into the second half, Watford – who lost their taliswoman Saoirse Noonan to injury – started to make inroads in the opposition half, with Chelsea loanee Vera Jones curling home a lovely free-kick with just over 15 minutes of normal time left to play.
Yet Sunderland – who saw a late goal from Ella Parker ruled out for handball – showed terrific game management to eat up six minutes of injury time as they recorded another away win, while consigning Watford to a third successive defeat in all competitions.
Sheffield United 4-1 Durham
With both sides having lost their opening three games in the BWSL2, you would be forgiven for thinking a tight, nerve-shredding affair was on the cards at Bramall Lane, but it was anything but as Sheffield United ran riot against Durham.
On the receiving end of a heavy 10-1 defeat by Manchester United in midweek, the only positive Sheff. Utd could extract from their Players Cup reverse was the stunning solo effort from Amy Andrews, their top scorer from last season.
And the 26-year-old used that goal as a platform to build on against Durham, netting an incredible hat-trick against her former paymasters which included a close-range header, a coolly-taken penalty and a nonchalant one-on-one finish.
She was not the only heroine in red and white, however, for Lucy Quinn – another player who has shone in difficult circumstances this season – produced the inviting cross which brought about Andrews’ header, while she was also in the right place at the right time to score her second goal of the campaign after 51 minutes.
Described as a “must-win game” by Durham midfielder Dee Bradley on Friday, the visitors provided the best goal of the match when Jade Pennock played the ball to Bayley Hutchison, whose sumptuous, long-range effort flew over United goalkeeper Sian Rogers and into the back of the net.
But apart from that moment of genius, Durham were second best all afternoon as they slipped to the bottom of the table following their fourth successive defeat, while United moved up to ninth after winning their first game since March.
Newcastle United 4-0 Leicester City
In a match which brought together the two main candidates for promotion this season, Newcastle United laid down an early marker with a thumping win over Leicester City which maintained their perfect start to 2026-27.
A sign of how much quality Newcastle have at their disposal, manager Tanya Oxtoby was able to replace in-form captain Rachel McLauchlan with Charlotte Wardlaw, who broke the deadlock with a powerful, low drive after just 12 minutes.
And that strength in depth was evident once again when Jordan Nobbs came off the bench in the second half to assist Martha Thomas, the former Tottenham Hotspur forward doubling the hosts’ lead with a well-taken, glancing header.
One of a number of shining lights in a well-oiled Newcastle side who are looking ominous in both boxes, Beth Lumsden registered an assist-of-the-season contender with a fabulous through ball which cut through a Leicester defence who were unable to stop Thomas from posting back-to-back braces.
Continuing to feel the effects of a major injury crisis which has left them without captain Sam Tierney and midfield lynchpin Olivia McLoughlin among others, Leicester were unable to lay a glove on Newcastle as they failed to find the back of the net for the third game in a row in all competitions.
Whereas Newcastle have got goals coming from all over the pitch, with defender Aoife Mannion showing unbelievable improvisation to loop the ball over her head and into the far corner as the league leaders made it four wins from four in the BWSL2, with Leicester already six points behind after suffering two losses in a row.
Ipswich Town 3-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Those who tipped Ipswich Town to be the dark horses of the BWSL2 are looking smart at the moment after they moved up to third in the table with a win over Wolverhampton Wanderers which kept their unbeaten record intact.
After building on three straight wins at the end of 2025-26 by recruiting a host of exciting players in the summer transfer window, the Tractor Girls are making the rest of the league stand up and take notice of their early-season exploits.
Ipswich were pegged back after 18 minutes when Amber Hughes chased down a lost cause to score for the third game in succession, but the goal was shrouded in controversy as replays appeared to show the ball going out of play before the Wolves legend nudged it back onto the pitch.
However, Ipswich remained level-headed despite the decision going against them, and they came roaring back into proceedings when Princess Ademiluyi – returning to the starting eleven after representing England at the Under-20 World Cup – unleashed a wonderful strike which found the net with a little help from the post.
And David Wright’s side completed the turnaround after 43 minutes when goalkeeper Emily Orman was adjudged to have fumbled Maria Boswell’s cross over the line – another controversial call which incensed Wolves this time as the replays were not conclusive.
But there was no argument to be had over the third and final goal for Ipswich as captain Boswell rifled home from the edge of the box to make it back-to-back wins for her side, while Dan McNamara’s Wolves tasted defeat for the first time since the opening weekend.
Southampton 1-1 Nottingham Forest
St. Mary’s hosted a BWSL2 fixture for the first time this season as Southampton entertained Nottingham Forest, with both teams earning a point which preserved their unbeaten starts to the campaign.
Looking to get back to winning ways after drawing their last two games against Ipswich and Sunderland, the Saints had to wait until the 63rd minute to open the scoring when the tireless Freya Jupp charged through Georgia Brougham and Chloe Mustaki before burying her finish past Forest goalkeeper Katie Cox.
Having labelled Southampton as “an incredibly hardworking team” in the lead up to the match, Forest boss Tom Mallinson knew his side needed a bit of magic to find a leveller against a side that had kept clean sheets in their previous two games.
The great news for the Tricky Trees is that Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah possesses goalscoring power of the highest quality, the winger building on her wonderful strike at Durham last weekend with another long-range effort which pierced the Hampshire rain and found the bottom corner.
After scoring for the fourth BWSL2 game in a row, Forest pushed for a late winner through Leticia McKenna and Boye-Hlorkah, but they were made to settle for a point which kept them sixth in the table.
Southampton meanwhile remain fourth in the standings after registering their third draw in a row, with Simon Parker’s side in need of goals to go alongside their tremendous solidity, having netted just four times this season.
