‘El Lassico’ is a derby nickname most football fans won’t have heard before.
Rather than the cauldron of the Bernabeu in Madrid, this playful take on Spain’s famous El Clásico will go down at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light, but there will be nothing playful about the game itself.
This is the Tyne and Wear derby, Sunderland v Newcastle; the lasses of the north east scrapping for bragging rights and, this season, the one solitary automatic promotion spot up from WSL2. It could well be the biggest game of the entire league season.
Dubbed El Lassico by Sunderland’s brilliant marketing team, this edition of the derby could be the hardest fought yet, and Sunderland striker Elise Hughes has already had a taste of it.
“I realised very quickly when I moved to the north east [from Crystal Palace last season] how attached everyone here is to football,” Hughes tells The Cutback. “You go out and you see Sunderland fans wearing the shirts from the club shop, wearing the tracksuits and their Black Cat tattoos. You can tell they live and breathe football. The least we can do is put on a performance and have a bit of bragging rights. It’s a very passionate fanbase who are very passionate about winning football games. That bleeds into us players as well because we know how important it is as a squad, as an area and as a team.”
Sunderland and Newcastle have quickly become the teams to beat in WSL2 and Hughes, Sunderland’s star summer signing with five league goals in seven games, is embracing the pressure.
“Every player wants to play in the big games, and this is probably one of the biggest in the country,” she said. “It’s a really good occasion for the North East. The fact that both teams are doing well makes the occasion even better. There is probably added pressure because you’ve got to take points from that game.”
She continued: “The region has always produced top, top players historically. Sunderland, in particular, have been a massive club in terms of winning trophies and being a staple in the WSL. We obviously want to be back there. That’s the club’s ambition. It makes it even more exciting that our rivals are also sat there wanting the exact same thing.”
Notably, the two sides faced off in the League Cup less than a month ago. Sunderland ground out a 1-0 victory thanks to a goal from attacking midfielder Katie Kitching. Reflecting on that match, Hughes believes desire and mentality made all the difference.
“As a team, I think we just wanted to win that game more, and I think we were more than deserved winners,” she recalled. “Noa [Schumacher] had an incredible moment saving a penalty, which swung the momentum right back our way. You need big moments like that in a derby.”
While cup football differs from the league, Hughes emphasises the psychological boost that victory provided ahead of Sunday’s rematch.
“In a different competition, it’s hard to directly compare results, but winning was exactly what we set out to do,” Hughes affirmed. “There’ll be a real belief now that we know it’s not impossible. Newcastle are unbeaten in the league for a reason, but to come up against them in the cup and win means they’re not unstoppable.”
The squad, the coaching staff and the fans are all of the belief that Sunderland are capable of something special this season, and the club is priming itself for a return to the big time. Over the summer, global multi-club ownership platform Bay Collective acquired a majority stake in the club’s women’s team, making Sunderland the second club in which they have invested after NWSL side Bay FC.
“I think it shows how big a club Sunderland is that Bay Collective, over in the NWSL, wanted to buy in and be part of it as well,” Hughes says. “It’s nice to have a link to one of the biggest leagues in the world as well. There’s an added belief now. With the investment, there are people who want the women’s side of our football club to also do well.”
Sunderland are indeed doing well, and with top-of-the-table momentum and regional pride on the line, Sunday’s WSL2 showdown is unmissable.