After an international break that saw a number of the Golden Girls feature for their countries, the Barclays Women’s Championship returns for week five of the season.
This Sunday (October 1, 2pm KO) the Hornets face off against a Sunderland side that sit in fourth place with eight points after the opening four games. The Hornets will be hoping for a repeat of their last away trip that saw them run out 3-2 winners at The Valley against Charlton Athletic.
Ahead of the trip up north, here’s everything you need to know…
The Ground
Aside from a handful of games per season at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland play at Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground, based to the south of the city in Hetton-le-Hole.
The ground provides hard-standing areas all the way around the natural grass playing surface, with a large covered stand along one side of the pitch.
Parking is available for supporters at Hetton School, DH5 9JZ, with a 10-minute walk to the ground. There are also parking spaces available on a first-come, first-served basis at Barnes Street, Barnes Street Church and McMurchie Meat Ltd. with approximately 70 spaces across the car parks.
If you are travelling by public transport, you will need to get a bus to the ground, with great links from Sunderland, Durham, Seaham and Peterlee. If you’re travelling from Sunderland, board the number 35A bus at Sunderland Interchange ‘Stand M’ and get off at Hetton-le-Hole Interchange ‘Stand C’.
If you are considering travelling by bus, please click the links below to look at the options available via ‘Go North East’ by selecting the relevant dates and times.
If you are travelling from a different location, simply change the departure location to your local area:
Sunderland to Hetton-le-Hole Durham > Hetton-le-Hole
If you are travelling from a different location, simply change the departure location to your local area.
When you arrive at the stadium, supporters will be able to access the ground from around one hour prior to kick-off. Access is provided through turnstile 3 located inside the Hetton Centre site, next to the main stand and is accessible from the A182 by foot. All other turnstiles will not be in use.
Catering facilities are available behind one of the goals. Please note, this is cash only payment.
Tickets
Tickets can be purchased online in advance of the match, with prices starting at £5. Adult tickets are priced at £10, Over-65s are priced at £7.50, with Students and Under-16 tickets priced at £5.
The Match
Both teams return to league action after the international break looking to recover from dropped points at home in their last outings. Sunderland shared the points when Crystal Palace visited them on Sunday September 17, whilst the Golden Girls come off the back of a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Blackburn Rovers.
Heading into the game, Head Coach Damon Lathrope will be pleased to see some of the players that have been missing from the squad since the start of the season drawing closer to a return, as captain Meg Chandler and summer signing Charlotte Fleming picked up important minutes with the Development Team last weekend.
The last time the two sides met was just over 18 months ago, when the Golden Girls fell to a 2-1 defeat at the Eppleton Collier. The Hornets will be hoping to improve on previous fortunes in the North East and pick up three vital points.
