Durham head coach Adam Furness admitted that he was furious that his side were not awarded a penalty in their 2-1 defeat to Charlton Athletic at Maiden Castle on Sunday afternoon.
The Wildcats weren’t at their best in their opening league fixture of 2025, however, they were not helped by a decision which did not go their way early in the second half.
Kayleigh Barton’s first half goal had given Charlton Athletic the lead, however, Durham went close early in the second half when Aimee Claypole directed a header at goal from a corner kick. The shot hit the post, however, replays showed that the hand of visiting defender Charlotte Newsham potentially played a part in keeping the ball out of the net. The referee looked to be well-positioned to see the incident, however, a penalty kick was not given.
Charlton Athletic went on to claim a second goal through Atlanta Primus before Becky Salicki reduced the arrears for Durham deep in second half stoppage time.
When speaking to the media after the match, Durham boss Furness admitted that his side had performed below their usual standards but the decision not to award them a penalty was a game-changer.
“It wasn’t what we planned,” Furness said. “I don’t think it was particularly great from us in the first half, although we started the game brightly and took it to them in the first 10-15 minutes. The momentum shifted, they started to get the better of it and it was a really disappointing goal for us to give away and fall behind.
“In the second half, we came out and had a real go. We were really front-footed and I’m absolutely furious at the decision that’s not given. It’s a hand-ball on the line, it’s a red card, it’s a penalty and hopefully, at that stage, it goes in then at 1-1, 10 v 11 here, I’d absolutely fancy us to go on and win the game.
“It’s one of those where you have regrets of what could’ve been but maybe on the balance of play, we weren’t good enough for three points either. I’m disappointed to come away with nothing.”
Forward Claypole made her debut in the match after recently joining Durham on-loan from Chelsea. Furness has been pleased with how the youngster has settled into life at Maiden Castle.
He said “It’s somebody that has been monitored through the club because she’s played academy games against us previously and scored lots of goals. It’s one we’ve been tracking. When the opportunity has come to bring her in, it’s definitely a position that we’ve wanted to strengthen.
“She’s settled in really well, she’s embedded into the group. She’s not quite fully up to match tempo yet but she’s had a good 80-plus minutes today. It’ll be good for her to keep going and hopefully, we’ll see the best of her in the remainder of the season.”
After tasting defeat in their first game of 2025, Durham now turn their attention towards Wednesday’s Subway Women’s League Cup quarter-final tie at Chelsea. Furness says that The Wildcats need to quickly pick themselves up for that huge challenge.
He said “We’ve got to pick ourselves up because we’ve got a really busy fortnight. The trip to London to face Chelsea on Wednesday, it’s a massive game. We need to get ourselves rested, recovered and ready to go again.”
Durham’s Subway Women’s League Cup quarter-final tie at Chelsea kicks-off at 6.45pm on Wednesday evening.
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