VICKERS PLEASED WITH TEAM EFFORT IN FINAL WOMEN’S FRIENDLY

Main Club Sponsor

TICKETS

SHOP

First team coach reflects on Newcastle trip

2026-08-30T17:00+01:00

VICKERS PLEASED WITH TEAM EFFORT IN FINAL WOMEN’S FRIENDLY

First team coach reflects on Newcastle trip

2026-08-30T17:00+01:00

Despite the result, Burnley Women’s display at Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon was a positive way to end a ‘really good’ pre-season.

That’s the opinion of Coach Ashley Vickers, who spoke to the Club website after full-time at the Gateshead International Stadium.

Jamie Finn opened the scoring for Burnley in the northeast after good work from Alethea Paul, but Newcastle hit back with a hat-trick from the lively Kathleen McGovern.

The friendly rounded off a schedule that included draws with English and Spanish top-flight opposition, in addition to victories over fellow Barclays Women’s Super League 2 side.

“It (the Newcastle display) was a really good effort, and a really good performance that gives us something to work on next week going into Watford,” Vickers said.

“We pride ourselves on having a good shape, and from that shape we’ve got to press.

“If we can turn the ball over then obviously, we’ll go and attack, and we were aggressive from the start.

“The first half in particular was really good, so the message at half-time was just about continuing that.

“We tweaked a few little bits with the aim of pushing on through the second half and finishing strong, but ultimately the result doesn’t matter.

“I think we’ve had a really good pre-season. It was always going to take time to gel, but I think what the girls have done and how they’ve embedded things that we’ve looked to implement has been rally positive.”

The Clarets used 18 players against the Magpies, with five summer signings included in the starting XI.

When asked how important it will be to utilise the whole squad available to the coaching staff this season, Vickers continued: “Massively.

We’ve got a few (players) that aren’t even here today, and everybody’s going to have to play their part, whether they’re starters or finishers.

They’re all going to have a huge role in how successful we are this season.

“The attitude from each and every individual this afternoon was fantastic, as it has been all through pre-season.”

The 2026/27 season starts with a trip to Watford on Friday 4th September and now that the fixture is less than a week away, Vickers finished by looking ahead to our BWSL2 debut.

“I’m excited,” he explained.

“You go through seven weeks worth of work in pre-season and ultimately we now start on Friday. It’s a long season, so it’s just the start but it will be great to get going.

“It would be great if we could get some travelling supporters down there supporting us as well.

“It’s a Friday night under the lights at Vicarage Road, and there’s nothing more exciting than that.”

Kick-off at Vicarage Road (WD18 0ER) is 7.30pm, and tickets can be purchased in advance of the day at £12 for adults, £8 for those aged 65+ and 19-21, and £5 for under 18s and below HERE. They will also be available on the door.