International Roundup: Debuts, goals and brand new roles for Sunderland’s Lasses!

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After a week's hiatus due to the women’s international break, league football returns to the Women’s Championship this weekend with our very own Sunderland Women taking on local rivalries Durham Women on Sunday.

But before the River Wear Derby takes place, we thought to update you on just how some of our players fared on the international scene for their respective nations.

Photo by Nathan Stirk - The FA/The FA via Getty Images

Prior to departing for the England U19 camp, our very own forward Katy Watson signed a new contract with Sunderland which will see her finish her final year of education before joining the professional model.

A frequent name on U19 manager Amy Merrick’s list, Katy Watson was once again rewarded for her impressive start for the lasses with a call-up for England’s games in the UEFA U19 Euro qualifying campaign.

The first game saw England take on Greece, with Watson coming on in the 72nd minute whilst England were 1-0 up. The Greeks weren’t too much cause for concern for the young lionesses, but the game was not out of sight and they continued to search for a second goal late on.

Step up Watson in the final moments of extra-time to round off the win when she scored from a tight angle after being played through by former Sunderland RTC player Poppy Pritchard.

Next up England women’s under-19s continued their UEFA U19 Euro qualifying campaign with an impressive 6-1 win over Wales in Cardiff.

Watson was picked to start in this game and played the full 90 minutes as England were perhaps surprisingly down 1-0 in the opening ten minutes. However, England played their way back into the game and equalised just before the half-hour mark with a penalty to send the teams in level at the break.

Shortly after half time, England went 2-1 up. Yet, it was ten minutes later when Watson got her second goal in two goals and gave England a two-goal advantage by firing emphatically home after getting on the end of Pritchard’s cross.

Following on from this, England began to dominate in terms of possession and attacking opportunities and duly dispatched any chances that came their way to emphatically dispatch the Wales side.

Despite her good form in the two previous games, Watson was unfortunately not rewarded with any game time in England U19’s final fixture. However, the team made it three wins from three in round one of qualifying for next summer’s UEFA European Women’s Under-19 Championship with a 1-0 victory over Czechia.

Perhaps it is fortunate for Sunderland that whilst she was able to represent her country and score some goals, she was given enough of a break to recover for our upcoming league fixture this Sunday against Durham.

Meanwhile new summer signing Mary McAteer was called up for Wales Women National Senior Team. The 19-year-old has been a revelation for Sunderland since joining and fans were pleased for McAteer when it was announced she would be part of the Wales camp preparing for their UEFA Women’s National League fixtures.

Despite being introduced into a baptism of fire in the 88th minute against a rampant German side who won 5-1 in the end, it was a very proud moment for the youngster as she became the 178th player to represent the Wales Women Senior Team.

Whilst included in Wales squad for their following fixture against Denmark, McAteer was left as unused substitute. Similarly to Katy Watson, it works in favour of Sunderland as McAteer was given a rest prior to our big game on Sunday.

It is worth noting that our other summer signing in Ellen Jones was also called up for the Wales camp, but was not in any of the chosen squads against Germany and Denmark.

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