By james art By Sanjay Suri
Sunderland took the spoils against north-east rivals Durham in the Barclays Women’s Championship.
Charlton Athletic fought back at the death to share the points against Newcastle United, while Birmingham City beat Southampton.
Sheffield United picked up their first points of the season with a win over Blackburn Rovers, while Bristol City edged past Portsmouth.
Catch up on all the action:
Derby delight for Sunderland
Sunderland came from behind to beat Durham 2-1 in the River Wear derby at Maiden Castle.
Hosts Durham took an early lead in the pouring rain through Hannah Blake’s close-range strike before Eleanor Dale equalized from the spot.
Mary McAteer put eighth-ranked Sunderland ahead early in the second half with a simple tap-in and they held on to take the points to see Durham drop to fourth.
Birmingham increase the lead
Birmingham City secured a comfortable 2-0 win over mid-table Southampton to extend their lead at the top to two points.
The Blues took the lead after Saints defender Megan Collett deflected Louise Quinn’s header into her own net in the 11th minute.
Lily Ag swept in a second five minutes after the restart to double Birmingham’s advantage to secure their third straight win, while Southampton are seventh.
Charlton stunned the Magpies
Charlton Athletic scored twice in stoppage time in as many minutes to draw 3-3 against 10-man Newcastle United.
Shanaya Hales scored twice in the opening 14 minutes before Katie Bradley pulled one back for Charlton early in the second half.
Hales restored Newcastle’s two-goal lead from the spot to make it his hat-trick before Amber-Keegan Stobbs was sent off for the home side 10 minutes from time.
Kayleigh Barton scored in the 94th minute to give Charlton hope before Bradley slotted home her second to secure a point at the death.
Sheffield United off target
Maria Farrugia scored to give Sheffield United their first points of the season in a 2-1 win against Blackburn Rovers.
Farrugia came on and converted midway through the first half to take the lead, while Maria Edwards equalized just after half-time after a flurry of strikes.
However, Farrugia’s second 10 minutes were enough for three vital points as they moved level on points with Blackburn, who are now four league games without a win.
Bristol lead Portsmouth
Sixth-placed Bristol City had a nervy 1-0 win at home to newly promoted Portsmouth.
The Robins struck early when Fionn Morgan rounded Yves Annetts into an empty net but were unable to show their dominance with further goals.
Portsmouth are still looking for their first points in the Barclays Women’s Championship and came closest late on through Riva Casley, who headed in a corner in the fifth minute of added time.