Sports
Amanda Staveley’s Newcastle United ‘legacy’ is remembered with superb Adidas social media post
Newcastle United Women continued their development with a victory over fierce rivals Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
With a quarter of the season played, Becky Langley’s team secured all three points thanks to two superb strikes from Beth Lumsden, keeping them within striking distance of table toppers Birmingham City. Newcastle United has made a strong start to life in the second division, following a quick rise and back-to-back promotions up the pyramid.
While all of the focus since the club’s acquisition three years ago has been on how the men’s first team is performing, a lot of effort has been done behind the scenes to improve the women’s team. Amanda Staveley was the driving force behind it, and while she has since left the club, the success of Langley’s side will be remembered as one of her most significant contributions.
Beating Sunderland at the venue of Light is another step forward for the Magpies, as is another important encounter at a large venue in which they won. Newcastle United will have to get used to playing in large games if they want to join the Super League: “It’s brilliant for the growth of women’s football and in particular in the north east.” Langley told The Gazette. “Both sets of fans packed out the stadium, which was amazing to watch.
“When I reflect on five and a bit years ago to the first time we played here, we probably had 1200 who were sat behind where the dugouts were, so to walk out and see a packed stand of Sunderland fans and a packed corner of Newcastle United fans was brilliant to see.”
Newcastle United had a local backline on Sunday, featuring former Lioness Demi Stokes, who joined the club from Manchester City this summer. Stokes has 69 caps for England and will represent Team GB at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The Magpies have a number of players who have progressed through the club’s levels, with Stokes adding significant experience, which Langley believes is vital to the team.
“She brings experience, she brings a calm head, she’s very composed and relaxed whilst playing. That gives other people confidence which is important.
“There’s a lot of players that have been on this journey with me for five or six years now. Liv Watt is one of them who performed excellently at right back, Charlotte Potts has been on the journey for the last three seasons and again she did well. I couldn’t be more proud of anyone on the journey to be honest, whether they are a starter or a squad player, we’ve given everything in the last five or six seasons to be in this position.”
As Newcastle United Women celebrated another milestone win with a photo in front of their 2,000-plus followers, Adidas UK was quick to rejoice on social media with a post dedicated to Langley’s team and their success. Adidas shared a shot of Newcastle United celebrating, captioned ‘Howay the lasses’ and ‘It’s black and white’.