This week’s BUCS Match of the Week sees us head to Merseyside as Liverpool take on Newcastle in a Women’s Premier North 2 match-up.
Liverpool come into this game with just one win from their seven games this season and their 12-7 win over Edinburgh 2s in early November sees them second bottom on three points.
They were dumped out of the National Trophy after a 19-2 second round defeat by fellow Premier North 2 team Durham 2 despite an impressive 12-3 round one victory over Nottingham 3s.
It’s certainly been a baptism of fire for a team who were promoted from the Northern Tier 1 – 1A last season with an unbeaten record and 10 league wins in a row.
Today, Liverpool will be looking to build upon a good performance last week as they fell to a narrow 9-7 defeat to Manchester and finally grab that second league win that has been so elusive over the past month.
Newcastle make the almost 350-mile round trip to Liverpool hoping to bounce back from successive defeats in all competitions for the second time this season.
Despite this, they sit in a healthy third place in the Premier North 2, level on points with Manchester who they are yet to play and blew away Liverpool 12-2 in the reverse fixture in October.
Three wins and three losses from six games is a good return for Newcastle and being “the best of the rest” behind two incredible sides in Durham 2s and Nottingham 2s is certainly not to be sniffed at and a second successive third place finish looks to be on the cards.
Ones to Watch
University of Liverpool
An exceptional performer throughout the season so far, Georgina Goodwin is a defensive midfielder whose performances across the pitch in both the attack and defence has had a huge impact on Liverpool’s game.
Zoe Hollingshead is a newcomer to the Liverpool team this season having only started her studies in September but she has already proved her worth in a short space of time.
Hollingshead has the ability to create space in the centre of midfield and control the attacking play brilliantly.
Newcastle University
Newcastle’s two players to watch come as a pair and are, in the words of coach Jeremy Pidgeon, a “deathly duo”.
Emma Eastwick-Jones and Henny Wright are both midfielders who are so in sync they can read each other’s play and predict what the other is going to do.
A part of the England under-23 set-up, Eastwick-Jones is an unbelievable talent who clearly has a bright future head of her on a lacrosse pitch.
Having come through the ranks at Timperley Lacrosse Club in Greater Manchester, Wright is continuing her development at Newcastle and is proving a tough nut to crack in the middle of the park.
Fact Files
University of Liverpool
Team Captain | Lucy Adshead
Coaching Staff | India Chadwick
2022/23 League Position | 1st (Northern Tier 1 - 1A)
Newcastle University
Team Captain | Annie Hipper
Coaching Staff | Jeremy Pidgeon
2022/23 League Position | 3rd (Premier North 1)
Previous Meetings
Newcastle 12-2 Liverpool | 18/10/23