Efficient Lumsden shining for Newcastle

You’re in trouble as soon as she receives the ball, over your trembling shoulder on the right flank, such is the efficiency of her game through which goals and assists are conjured with a speed of thought that is difficult to match.

That is the likely view of every left-back who has faced Beth Lumsden in the Barclays Women’s Super League 2 this season, for the Newcastle United winger has been a level above in the first five games of the campaign.

It is almost as if the 27-year-old is calculating exactly how many steps and how many touches she will need to create a goalscoring opportunity before the ball has even reached her, as she never appears to overrun or over dribble.

A prolific creator who puts the word ‘lively’ to shame, Lumsden has produced the second-most goal contributions (two goals, three assists) in the BWSL2, fuelling an energetic Newcastle side who have been perfect in the second tier.

Having registered more contributions in the first five games of this season than in the same period in the previous two campaigns, Lumsden is already on the way to surpassing her superb numbers from 2025-26 (seven goals, three assists) and 2024-25 (seven goals, two assists).

And her form has not gone unnoticed, for the ex-London City Lionesses and Southampton forward was named Newcastle's Player of the Month for September – recognition she truly deserves.

Lumsden is productive every time she receives the ball

There are few players in the BWSL2 who are as aesthetically-pleasing to watch as Lumsden, the Newcastle No. 26 who causes ripples of excitement every time the ball comes cradling over the grass towards her.

On the opening weekend of the season, the pacy Lumsden made up a large amount of ground to race past Wolverhampton Wanderers left-back Beth Roberts and stare down onrushing goalkeeper Emily Orman.

Many a winger would have tried to dribble around Orman, hoping to invite contact worthy of a penalty or no contact worthy of a tap-in, all the while risking a third option – the Wolves goalkeeper snuffing the danger out.

But Lumsden took the fourth option, the option which sums her up as a player, which was to prod the ball past Orman and into the empty goal with a single, precise touch after chasing down a lovely pass from Kathleen McGovern.

“It was a fantastic assist from McGov, she put it on a plate for us, really, but as soon as I hit it I knew it was going in,” said the unselfish Lumsden after she netted Newcastle’s first goal of the season.

Such selflessness has been evident on the pitch too, for Lumsden has flourished when turning provider for McGovern, Martha Thomas and Mollie Lambert in a well-oiled Newcastle attack that has already scored 14 goals this season.

In the goal which rubber-stamped the 2-0 victory over Wolves, Lumsden took a single touch past Roberts before a quick cross into the danger zone saw Lambert’s sliding effort deflect in off Georgia Marshall.

And then Thomas was the beneficiary in the 4-1 win over Sheffield United, tapping home from close range after Lumsden correctly decided to cross rather than shoot after two terrific touches beat the same number of defenders.

After sparkling in games against lower opposition, would we see a different Lumsden in the wet and windy conditions which added further pressure to the encounter between Newcastle and promotion rivals Leicester City?

‘No’ was her emphatic response.

Through the crisp, outside-of-the-boot flick to Jordan Nobbs which became a pre-assist for Thomas, and through the outrageous, volleyed assist for the latter as the Lasses laid down a marker in a dominant 4-0 win in Gateshead.

And so it should come as no surprise that Lumsden felt zero pressure in the north-east derby at Durham, the red-headed runner receiving the ball and slipping past left-back Lauren Briggs in one slick move to provide another tap-in for Thomas on matchweek five.

And in the lead up to those goals, Lumsden took a mere six touches of the ball.

Bristol City are the only side who have prevented Lumsden from producing a goal contribution this season, but observers of that affair at Ashton Gate will tell you how brilliant she was.

A nightmare for City left-back Signe Markvardsen, she was able to blend power and accuracy when cutting inside on her ‘weaker’ left foot before unleashing a series of shots which, more often than not, stung the palms of goalkeeper Lauren Brzykcy.

It was great shooting practice for Lumsden, who again took just one touch to set herself before releasing a powerful, left-footed curler which brought about her second goal of the season in the next game against Sheff. Utd.

“Obviously I want to get my numbers up as much as possible when I'm playing," said Lumsden after the game. "I know that ultimately the three points are all that matter. If my goals and assists help us to win, then that's even better.”

Lumsden and McLauchlan are forging a great partnership

Not content with building relationships in attack, Lumsden is also fostering a good connection with captain Rachel McLauchlan, the right-back who joined Newcastle from Brighton and Hove Albion in the summer.

After Tanya Oxtoby was named Lasses head coach in November 2025, Lumsden was tasked with operating on either flank last season, meaning the player behind her changed from game-to-game, from Charlotte Wardlaw and Aoife Mannion on the right to Kaitlyn Torpey and Jemma Purfield on the left.

However, such has been Newcastle’s fine start to the season that Oxtoby has had the luxury of pairing Lumsden and McLauchlan together on the right-hand side in four of their five league games.

While Lumsden has made waves going forward, having created the second-most chances (15) and the most ‘big chances' (5) this season, Wolves’ Louanne Worsley is the only winger to boast a better defensive contributions per 90 minutes statistic than the Newcastle star (5.4) as well.

The same can also be said for the all-round game of McLauchlan, who is the full-back with the second-most chances created (6) in the BWSL2 this season, while she has also had a hand in Newcastle conceding just one league goal.

In their tightest match to date against Bristol City, McLauchlan and Lumsden made a noteworthy 17 defensive contributions between them as the aforementioned Markvardsen and Maria Farrugia were patrolled, with Hildur Antonsdottir and Thomas helping them out at times.

And so when captain McLauchlan was unfit to face Leicester on matchweek four, meaning Wardlaw was called in as a replacement at right-back, would we see a different version of Lumsden?

‘No’ was the empathic response for a second time.

In a four-person battle involving Leicester duo Asmita Ale and Alisha Lehmann, Wardlaw and Lumsden produced 17 defensive contributions between them – a fantastic return considering Wardlaw had to walk a tight rope after receiving an early yellow card in the 4-0 victory.

After recording another shutout against Leicester, the perfectionist Oxtoby said at full time: “[I’m] really happy with the clean sheet, we spoke a lot about needing to win our duels today with the conditions. I thought our first and second ball pickups were excellent; our duels were excellent.”

It is still early days but Newcastle have so far lived up to the high expectations that were placed upon them in pre-season, with Lumsden proving to be one of the main protagonists of the best show in the BWSL2 right now.

And Lumsden and Newcastle are hoping to remain in the spotlight when they host fierce rivals Sunderland - who are breathing down their necks in second place in the BWSL2 - in a Players Cup edition of the Tyne-Wear derby on Sunday, 18 October.