Derby delight for Sunderland in dramatic Women's Championship matchday

By Sanjay Suri

Sunderland took the spoils against North East rivals Durham in the Barclays Women's Championship.

Charlton Athletic fought back at the death to share the points against Newcastle United as Birmingham City beat out Southampton.

Sheffield United picked up their first points of the season with a win over Blackburn Rovers as Bristol City eked past Portsmouth.

Catch up on all of the action:

Derby delight for Sunderland

Sunderland came from behind to beat Durham 2-1 in the Wear River derby at Maiden Castle.

Hosts Durham took an early lead in the pouring rain through Hannah Blake’s close-range strike before Eleanor Dale equalised from the spot.

Mary McAteer put eighth-placed Sunderland ahead early in the second half with a simple tap-in and they held on to take the points to see Durham drop to fourth.

Birmingham extend lead

Birmingham City secured a comfortable 2-0 win over mid-table Southampton to extend their lead at the top to two points.

Blues took the lead after Saints defender Megan Collett deflected Louise Quinn’s header into her own net on 11 minutes.

Lily Agg swept in a second five minutes after the restart to double Birmingham’s advantage to give them their third straight victory while Southampton sit seventh.

Charlton stun Magpies

Charlton Athletic scored two stoppage-time goals in as many minutes to draw 3-3 at 10-player Newcastle United.

Shania Hayles scored twice in the opening 14 minutes before Katie Bradley pulled one back for Charlton at the start of the second half.

Hayles restored Newcastle’s two-goal cushion from the spot to complete her hat-trick before Amber-Keegan Stobbs was sent off for the hosts with 10 minutes to go.

Kayleigh Barton netted in the 94th minute to give Charlton hope before Bradley bagged her second to secure a point at the death.

Sheffield United off the mark

Maria Farrugia scored a brace to hand Sheffield United their first points of the season in a 2-1 win at Blackburn Rovers.

Farrugia cut inside and converted midway through the first half to lead until Maria Edwards equalised right after halftime after a flurry of shots.

However, Farrugia’s second 10 minutes from time was enough for three vital points as they move level on points with Blackburn, who have now gone four league games without a win.

Bristol edge past Portsmouth

Sixth-placed Bristol City bagged a nervy 1-0 win at home to newly-promoted Portsmouth.

The Robins struck early when Ffion Morgan rounded Eve Annets and slotted into an empty net, but were unable to show their dominance with additional goals.

Portsmouth are still searching for their first points in the Barclays Women's Championship and came closest late on through Riva Casley who headed a corner just wide in the fifth minute of injury time.