Durham fell to a 2-1 defeat to neighbours Sunderland at Maiden Castle in a scrappy first River Wear derby of the Barclays Women’s Championship season.
Hannah Blake gave the Wildcats the lead after nine minutes before a penalty allowed Eleanor Dale to level the score for Sunderland before half-time.
Mary McAteer’s 51st-minute strike was then the decisive goal in the derby.
Durham hit the front in the opening 10 minutes after a scramble fell to Hannah Blake who rifled home the ball home to open her Maiden Castle account.
Sunderland came close to an instant response through Elanor Dale but a heroic block from Sarah Wilson kept the score at 1-0.
The Black Cats were awarded a penalty in the 33rd minute after Dale was brought down by a blue shirt. Dale stepped up and converted from the spot to equalise for Sunderland – sending Tatiana Saunders one way and the ball another giving the visitors life going into the break.
Sunderland took the lead in the 51st minute through Mary McAteer after Emily Scarr’s delivery fell to the midfielder who slotted it past Saunders to complete the turnaround.
A tight call on the Sunderland goal line in the 54th minute saw Demi Lambourne hold onto the ball from Lily Crosthwaite despite appeals from Durham players that it had crossed the line.
Crosthwaite created a handful of chances down the right-hand side but the Wildcats’ top scorer wasn’t able to convert.
Lambourne claimed the ball before Carly Johns could in the last minute of normal time to deny an equaliser for Durham.
Despite a handful of corners for Durham, Sunderland held on through the six additional minutes of time to seal victory in the River Wear Derby.