NEWCASTLE UNITED WOMEN'S head coach Becky Langley praised her players who 'gave everything for the shirt' as her side pulled off a notable Wear-Tyne derby win at the Stadium of Light against more-established rivals Sunderland.

A brace from Beth Lumsden, one coming directly from a corner, was enough to win the game even after a fightback from the Wearsiders as Emily Scarr halved the deficit setting up a nervy last 15 minutes.

"My heart rate's just about lowered! It was a very anxious last few minutes of the game," Langley said.

"It means a lot. We were so disappointed after the Durham game last weekend we just wanted to make sure we put that right, so it makes it even sweeter that we've come here and got the three points."

Newcastle fell to a defeat thanks to a late Durham goal in their previous match, another North East derby. This time out however, Langley was pleased with what she saw from her team.

"We got the early goal that we hoped would kill the game off, but credit to Sunderland they battled really well.

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"The whole back five was from the North East and they'll be disappointed they didn't keep a clean sheet.

"Every single player out there gave everything for the shirt."

The game saw a Women's Championship record crowd of 15,387 at the Stadium of Light, an achievement that did not pass by Langley, who was full of praise for the travelling fans.

"The fans are unbelievable, the numbers they come in home and away," she said.

"When we saw that left-hand side of the stadium packed out with Geordies, that's when I said to the players, 'We're playing for the fans today, that's it, not ourselves, not collectively, we're playing for those fans who come out and support us because we know how much that Tyne-Wear derby means'.

"The togetherness with the fans is the most important thing for us. Newcastle has got such an excellent fanbase but we've got to do the work on the pitch to make the fans want to come and watch us play.

"Fans want to watch good football, they want to watch people that are passionate to play for the badge and I think that's what you get from our players."

Record crowds and derby-day successes are important for the growth of the game Langley said, hoping that the result would help to put the North East back on the map as a bastion of women's football.

"It's brilliant for the growth of women's football in the North East. Both sets of fans really packed out the stadium today and it was fantastic to see."