Three of West Ham United women’s team’s loanees were in action for their respective temporary clubs at the weekend.
Jessie Stapleton played all 90 minutes of Sunderland’s end-to-end seven-goal thriller at home to Bristol City in the Barclays Women’s Championship, which saw the Black Cats claim a 4-3 victory.
An early goal from Eleanor Dale gave the home side the lead inside the first minute, but Mari Ward levelled proceedings shortly after.
The visiting Robins then turned the contest on its head just before the half-hour mark, courtesy of Ffion Morgan’s goal, but Dale was on target again four minutes after the break to restore parity.
This was the first of three goals in the space of four minutes as Katie Kitching then bagged a quick-fire brace to put Sunderland in the ascendency with a two-goal cushion.
Lexi Lloyd-Smith reduced the arrears with 19 minutes to play, but Stapleton and eighth-placed Sunderland held on to record their third league victory of the campaign.
Fellow Hammers loanee Keira Flannery was an unused substitute for the Black Cats.
Sunderland’s divisional rivals Charlton Athletic fell to a 1-0 defeat at home to Southampton, in which Princess Ademiluyi came on in the 82nd minute to help the Addicks push for an equaliser after they fell behind two minutes earlier.
Tara Bourne’s late goal moved Southampton one point off fifth-placed Charlton in the standings.
Meanwhile, in Germany, Shekiera Martinez came on in the 61st minute of SC Freiburg’s 3-0 defeat at top-of-the-table Wolfsburg in the Frauen-Bundesliga.
The league leaders scored all of their goals before Martinez entered the fray, as Svenja Huth and Alexandra Popp gave Wolfsburg a 2-0 advantage at half-time, before Lineth Beerensteyn added their third.
Freiburg sit sixth in the table after eight games of the season played.
Elsewhere, in Italy, Inès Belloumou watched from the sidelines as her Lazio teammates were beaten 2-1 by visiting Como.
A 74th-minute penalty from Julia Karlernäs and Dominika Škorvánková’s goal soon after meant Clarisse Le Bihan’s strike in second-half stoppage time was only a consolation.
The defeat leaves Lazio seventh in the Serie A standings and four points behind Como, who sit a place above.
In the Barclays Women’s Super League, Katelin Talbert was ineligible to play against her parent Club as hosting Tottenham Hotspur edged past the Hammers 2-1, after a 92nd-minute own-goal from Camila Sáez.
Riko Ueki’s superbly-placed header, her second goal of the campaign, gave Rehanne Skinner’s side the lead, but the visitors were pegged back by Bethany England’s equaliser six minutes after the break.
