Sunderland Women's Subway Players Cup campaign began with a 4-2 defeat to Liverpool at BrewDog Stadium on Wednesday, 23 September 2026.
Manager Mel Reay made eight changes from Sunday's goalless draw with Southampton. Tilly Parker made her first Sunderland start, with Sanni Franssi leading the line.
How the match unfolded
Liverpool controlled the early exchanges. Goalkeeper Noa Schumacher made two saves to keep the score level before the Reds broke through in the 23rd minute, when Zara Shaw turned in Lily Woodham's corner.
Sunderland equalised in the 44th minute. Katie Kitching's corner found Chloe Paxton, who prodded the ball past Liverpool goalkeeper Faye Kirby.
Three minutes later, Parker marked her first start with a special moment. Natasha Fenton's long ball dropped to the winger in the penalty area, and Parker fired into the roof of the net to put Sunderland 2-1 ahead.
Liverpool responded almost instantly after the interval. Marie-Therese Höbinger dispossessed Fenton and chipped Schumacher to level the match.
Eight minutes later, Natalia Ramos danced into the Sunderland penalty area and fired into the bottom right corner to put Liverpool 3-2 ahead. Moments later, Höbinger added a fourth goal, side-footed in by Beata Olsson.
What's next
Sunderland Women face their second successive away trip of the week, travelling to Vicarage Road on Sunday for an WSL2 match against Watford (2pm kick-off).
