History is made in Luton… | OneFootball

That was what the banner read (‘History is Made in Luton’) read, as we arrived inside Kenilworth Road on Saturday, to see Newcastle United Women taking on Hashtag United in the FA Women’s National League Cup final.

Except history and Newcastle United don’t always make for happy reading. They simply don’t do cup finals; 1974, 1976, 1998, 1999 and 2023 are all etched into every fans memory.

Kenilworth Road hasn’t exactly been a happy hunting ground in recent years either.

However, this is the Lasses and they don’t do losing.

They have been in outstanding form this season and going into this game had only lost twice throughout the campaign. Once away to WSL side Manchester United in the FA Cup and then a week later at home to promotion rivals Nottingham Forest.

Newcastle had already seen off Boldmere St. Michaels and Fylde, along with title rivals Burnley and Nottingham Forest in the earlier rounds, while a tense and tight semi-final victory over Portsmouth, a side that are above Hashtag in the Southern Premier Division table, meant the Lasses were overwhelming favourites.

Backed by the vast majority of the 3,719 in attendance, a sea of black and white shirts and scarves flooded the main stand.

Fans had made their way in droves, some by supporter buses, others by car and train, with several even travelling down days early to make a long weekend of it. There was even a fan park where live music and entertainment fired up a party atmosphere.

Not even the weather could dampen the fan excitement.

The first half opened and closed with glorious sunshine, but saw four seasons of conditions squeezed in between. Newcastle would take the lead after 16 minutes in the middle of a hailstorm!

Hashtag had the better of the opening exchanges but when Katie Barker and Lia Cataldo combined well down the left, the latter sent a deep cross into the box which caused Hashtag defender Malika Apinda trouble. Slicing the ball into her own net.

Sadly, Newcastle wouldn’t be ahead for long. Hashtag were back level three minutes later when West Ham United loanee Macey Nicholls, fired home on the volley.

Kacie Elson’s pace was causing Hashtag the most trouble in the first half but the team from Essex were proving to be a difficult side to break down. Defensively they restricted Newcastle to few clear sights at goal and were quick to close down the Newcastle United Women with a close pressing game.

The second half saw a much improved performance from Newcastle with Jas McQuade in particular being involved in several good opportunities but Hashtag goalie Frankie Angel made a series of outstanding saves to keep the scores level.

Both sides then made a flurry of substitutions with one on each side playing a major part in the winning goal. Elyssia Boddy had only been on the pitch a couple of minutes but her weak back pass was seized upon by the impressive Sammy Rowland, who persevered and beat goalie Grace Donnelly to the ball at the near post, working a cutback to find substitute Phoebe Williams to slot home into an empty net.

Newcastle needed a quick response.

A final change saw a tactical reshuffle and within seconds Katie Barker and Paige Bailey-Gayle had a couple of chances but on each occasion were thwarted by Frankie Angel in the Hashtag net. The Essex side once again made it difficult for United to create anything of note in the final few minutes and their chance of landing a league and cup double fizzled out. Hashtag thrived on being the underdogs.

At the final whistle, emotions began to pour out. All the hard work put in to fighting on two fronts this season had taken its toll. Newcastle were supposed to lift the trophy in front of their adoring travelling fans. Instead, they had to watch and applaud as a small club from Essex with a pocket of fans celebrated with the trophy and bottles of champagne.

It wasn’t meant to end like this.

Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi were both in the stands, almost amongst the fans, given the tight confines of the ground. Amanda’s first reaction at the final whistle? To check how her manager Becky Langley was. True class from our owners and we can only hope it’s another step closer to finally landing a piece of silverware.

United need to pick themselves up to get their main task of promotion over the line. They have four games to do it, needing seven points to be mathematically certain of the title and promotion, starting with Liverpool Feds at Kingston Park on Sunday 2pm KO.

Newcastle United Women: Grace Donnelly, Amber-Keegan Stobbs (c), Charlotte Potts, Lia Cataldo, Kacie Elson (Tyler Dodds 63), Hannah Greenwood (Elysia Boddy 69), Emma Kelly, Georgia Gibson, Katie Barker, Jasmine McQuade (Olivia Watt 75), Bridget Galloway (Paige Bailey-Gayle 63)