Newcastle United’s women’s side smashed the Women’s Championship attendance record on Sunday, drawing 38,502 fans for their clash against Sunderland.

It easily surpassed the previous league record of 15,387, which was set in the reverse fixture between these two sides in October at the Stadium of Light.

It was also a club record attendance for Newcastle, beating the 28,565 that came out for their FA Cup clash against Burnley in November 2022.

Prior to kickoff, club CEO Darren Eales and Bob Moncur — who captained the club to their Fairs Cup triumph in 1969 — paraded the Carabao Cup trophy that the men’s side recently won around the stadium.

Sunday’s Tyneside derby ended in favour of the hosts, with Shania Hayles scoring a 78th minute winner to secure a 1-0 win that saw Newcastle climb above Sunderland into sixth place.

“I didn’t actually realise how many people were here and when I was warming up I saw it. It is just amazing how many fans we get down here,” Hayles said in an interview to BBC post-match.

“I’ve never played in front of that many fans, let alone scored. At Kingston Park they show up whether it is raining or sunny so to do it today for them, it means everything to me,” she added.