What Amanda Staveley said to Newcastle United Women’s boss after historic St James’ Park win

Newcastle United Women manager Becky Langley reflects on a historic day at St James’ Park - and reveals her disappointment at missing out on promotion.
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Newcastle United Women manager Becky Langley was blown away by the bumper attendance on a historic day at St James’ Park.

But she also couldn’t hide her disappointment as the Lady Magpies missed out on promotion from FA Women’s Division One North.

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An attendance of 22,134 watched United, in their first-ever game at St James’ Park, beat Alnwick Town 4-0 following goals from Katie Barker, Brooke Cochrane, Georgia Gibson and Beth Guy.

However, Liverpool Feds’ 6-1 victory against FC United of Manchester saw the Merseyside club wrap up the title ahead of Newcastle’s final game of the season against Barnsley next Sunday.

Co-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi headed down the home dugout at full-time, and Langley revealed Staveley was quick to console her.

“The biggest thing for me at full-time was how reassuring Amanda and Mehrdad were,” Langley told NewcastleWord.

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“They were massively inspired and excited by the whole experience, especially Amanda, she loves Women’s sport and wants to really showcase that in the best light.

“They were both saying to me ‘keep your head up, I know you’ll be disappointed in regards to coming second but you’ve done so well with such limited resources’.

“With their support, we are going to be in such a fantastic position. That confidence in me in a female coach has been really important.”

Langley added: “It might be an afterthought for some people but it’s my first thought. I need to be careful not to take the shine away from a fantastic day.

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“Does 22,000 fans make me feel any better about finishing second? A little bit but I’m desperately disappointed. We’ve worked so hard across the season, I’ve given absolutely everything.

“To lose two football games and finish second… credit to Liverpool Feds, they’ve had a fantastic season.”

Despite her disappointment, Langley reflected on a historic day for his side, where over 22,000 supporters packed into St James’ Park.

“It’s amazing, absolutely amazing, she said. “When we started doing the warm-up and seeing the crowd filling into the stadium , ‘wow, that side’s filling up’ and then the Leazes Stand is also opening up and then it’s a 1-minute delay because there are 5,000 people still outside. It’s just a dream come true.

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“ We’re laughing in the changing room before the game because we’ve played on some of the worst pitches imaginable. We’ve trained at facilities that are dreadful in the past and now we’re in a situation where we’re supported by people that actually care.

“To play at St James’ Park, it’s an absolute dream come true.”

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