Women's Report: Durham 1-3 Saints

With a mammoth away trip to start the 2026/27 campaign, Simon Parker's side were up for the contest from the start and dominated in the North East before eventually taking a deserved lead early in the second half.

Ellie Brazil opened the scoring amidst a melee in the penalty area, before she turned provider to tee up Abbie Ferguson for a quickfire Saints double.

Megan Collett added deserved gloss to the scoreline with a third goal in the closing stages, before the hosts pulled a late consolation back via Sarah Wilson, but it was Saints' day as they earned their first away victory against Durham in the Barclays WSL2.

Saints stepping out on the opening day. (Photos: Getty Images)

Saints looked in control of possession during the early exchanges with assured, positive play that continued to be the theme throughout the first half.

Chloe Peplow's set pieces were causing trouble, and the first chance fell from the midfielder's corner; Megan Collett connected with a header that wasn't cleared but Mary Bashford's follow-up strike was blocked high into the air.

Seconds later, the first shot on goal came from Abbie Ferguson, who jinked past the Durham defence but her effort from wange was comfortable for Cat Sheppard in goal.

Saints' shots continued to materialise from turnovers in possession, but they couldn't punish the hosts from distance.

It was Bashford who forced an impressive Sheppard save with the first real attempt of note, as her fierce strike from the edge of the box was tipped wide at full stretch in the 20th minute.

McInnes was next to force a save with another long-ranger - her low bobbling strike was awkward for Sheppard to push behind for a corner.

Up front, Freya Jupp had done plenty of selfless running but finally found her first shooting chance on the half hour mark when she was slipped in behind by Ellie Brazil but the eventual attempt was high and wide under pressure.

The relentless Saints pressure continued with a Bashford poke towards goal the next test for Durham to deal with, as the North East hosts struggled to get to grip with Simon Parker's side.

It took until the 38th minute for Durham's first shot, which appeared momentarily dangerous when Pennock picked the ball up on the edge of the box but was kept at bay by an Amy Goddard block.

Saints went straight up the other end to resume the order of service as Ferguson struck the post with a cross, Brazil had a shot blocked, and then McInnes went close once more with a low curling attempt that bounced just past the bottom right corner.

Saints had to wait for their opener, which was deserved when it arrived.

In the second half, the story remained the same and Saints continued to knock at the door as Brazil came close within moments of the restart when she charged through on goal but miscued her shot wide.

Not to be denied any longer though, it was Saints' dangerous outlet who broke the deadlock in the 49th minute in, remarkably, the least glamorous fashion of the afternoon so far - Durham failed to clear their lines from a corner and, after a chaotic melee in the box, Brazil poked the ball through the crowd to open the scoring.

One quickly became two as five minutes later the lead was doubled and Brazil turned provider with a low cross from the right wing, which evaded Bashford in the middle of the box but was converted at the far post by the sliding Ferguson who made no mistake from close range.

It seemed like the floodgates were opening as Saints piled on the pressure, but their attempts from distance weren't as dangerous as the earlier well-worked moves.

Abbie Ferguson is congratulated after doubling the lead.

The game returned to a calmer, comfortable state as changes were made from both sides and summer signing Niamh Murphy came on for her debut, with her first action coming with a key touch to put a Durham cross behind for a corner under pressure in the area.

Any sense of an unlikely comeback was put to bed with four minutes of normal time to play as Collett added her name to the scoresheet in style.

Saints' new vice-captain, who was skippering her childhood club from the start for the very first time today, reacted to a high, loose ball in the penalty area and stretched to connect with an impressive volley from 12 yards out.

At the other end, Grace Moloney was alert to pull of an impressive late save with her first meaningful stop of the game, but was unfortunate from the resulting corner to lose a debut clean sheet when Durham's Sarah Wilson bundled home a mere consolation at the far post.

Saints' new captain Emma Harries, who came off the bench for the final 15 minutes, almost provided one more moment of magic to end the afternoon when her dangerous cross rebounded off the crossbar, but the scoreline remained at 1-3 until the end.

A performance and result to match on the opening day for Simon Parker's side, who marked a winning start to the 2026/27 season.

Durham: Sheppard, Ayre (Stobbs 77'), Briggs, McComasky (Bradley 72'), Wilson (c), Hepple, Watson (Hutchison 72'), Ede (Collinson 77'), Pennock, Lowe, Morran (Fergusson 62').

Subs not used: King, Noble, Brown.

Goals: Wilson (88').

Yellow cards: McComasky (48')

Saints: Moloney, Collett (c), Goddard, Mott, Brown (Edwards 89'), Peplow (Rae 46'), Bashford, McInnes, Ferguson (Murphy 73'), Brazil, Jupp (Harries 76').

Subs not used: Philps, Lampard, Bolton.

Goals: Brazil (49'), Ferguson (54'), Collett (86').

Yellow cards: Harries (84')

Attendance: TBC.