Sunderland Ladies cruise to victory in FAWNL Cup clash

Sunderland Ladies cruised to a 2-0 victory against Burnley in the FAWNL Cup preliminary round at Eppleton CW, Hetton this afternoon.

By James Copley

Published 22nd Sep 2019, 16:08 BST

Updated 22nd Sep 2019, 17:08 BST

Malta midfielder Maria Farrugia scored a stunning goal against Burnley.

Goals from derby day hero Jessica Brown and Maria Farrugia handed Mel Reay’s side the victory.

Claudia Moan made a full debut in goal after normal stopper Alison Cowling’s arm injury with starts for Katie Barker and Farrugia after both coming onto make an impact against Huddersfield Town in the National League North last weekend.

The Black Cats forced Burnley stopper Lauren Bracewell into a number of smarts saves, captain Kiera Ramshaw came close with a curling, left-footed effort with 28 minutes played.

Brown broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time, firing in at the near post after good play again from Ramshaw. Sunderland added a second just two minutes after the interval. Starting just inside the Burnley half, Farrugia beat three players before slotting home to hand her side all three points.

Burnley