Harvey Hinkler spoke to Sunderland head coach Mel Reay after Sunday’s ‘El Lassico’ draw with Newcastle United.

Sunderland head coach Mel Reay was pleased with her side’s performance and result as they played out a goalless draw against Newcastle United in a game dubbed ‘El Lassico’ at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.

The result keeps the Black Cats in second place in WSL2, three points behind league leaders Newcastle who remain unbeaten with just three goals conceded this season. Reay reflected on the game and was happy with the overall outcome.

Tanya Oxtoby, Manager of Newcastle United, interacts with Melanie Reay, Manager of Sunderland. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) | Getty Images

placeholder image — Tanya Oxtoby, Manager of Newcastle United, interacts with Melanie Reay, Manager of Sunderland. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) | Getty Images

“I’m happy with a point and happy with the clean sheet. It’s something we’ve spoken about as a group and I don’t think either team had their moment in front of goal to go on and win the game” Reay said.

Fran Stenson made a number of excellent saves in the Sunderland goal in a game otherwise few on chances in front of a bumper crowd on Wearside. The 25-year-old stopper arrived from Southampton in the summer following the departures of both Grace Moloney and Demi Lambourne.

On Stenson’s contributions in the derby and the season overall, Reay said: “Brilliant. Really pleased for her, she works really hard during the week along with Noa (Schumacher), Jenny (Blench) and Dylan (Malpas) our new goalkeeping coach.”

A draw was a result both sides would be happy with, and it felt as though neither team wanted to risk throwing the point away as the game went on.

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“I thought it was two good teams going head-to-head and I thought we probably dominated the ball at times, but probably didn’t have enough threat in the final third to go and win it,” Reay explained.

Wednesday night marked 250 games in charge of Sunderland for Reay and last week at Durham was assistant Steph Libbey’s 150th game with the club. Both were recognised for their achievements by technical director Rehanne Skinner before kick off.

Reay described it as a “proud moment” and discussed how well she works alongside Libbey.

“Me and Steph have a really good relationship, we work really hard together, we complement each other in terms of what we bring to the team so long may it continue.”

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