Ipswich Town beat 10-man Sunderland 3-1 to climb to second in WSL 2

Ipswich Town have moved into second place in the Barclays Women's Super League 2 after a 3-1 win over Sunderland, who finished the match with ten players.

The two sides, both surprise packages this season, met at the Joje Serve Community Stadium for the first time this campaign, with Sunderland second and Ipswich third going in. It was the first league outing for each team since the international break, after both played in the Subway Players Cup last week.

Sunderland made a perfect start. They won an early corner, and Elise Hughes headed in to put the visitors ahead inside three minutes.

Ipswich responded well. A cross from Georgia Fox was lost in the sunshine by the defence and dropped to a team-mate, who scored her first goal for the club. She was last season's golden boot winner in the Scottish Women's Premier League. Later in the first half, Ipswich had to defend a break in behind, where a Sunderland forward tried a spectacular finish that went over the crossbar. Ipswich also hit the upright from a second corner on a windy day.

The game turned when a Sunderland defender was sent off after Ipswich's forward chased a ball played through. Sunderland had to play most of the second half with ten players.

Ipswich made the extra player count. Their number nine, whose third goal in four games put them in front, then added a second on the afternoon from a long ball over the top, taking her season tally to four and making it 3-1. Ipswich also hit the crossbar late on through an effort from Paxton.

The result lifts Ipswich, under manager David Wright, to second in the WSL 2 table, two points behind leaders Newcastle United. Wright took over in January, when the club sat at the bottom of the table.

Wright said he was pleased with the performance, adding that Ipswich knew Sunderland would pose a threat. He felt his side had good control in the first half while both teams had 11 players.

Sunderland's coach said the defeat, the club's first of the season, was disappointing. She was pleased with the start and the corner routine that produced the opening goal, but felt the visitors were lucky to keep 11 players on the pitch in the first half and that the officials should have made a better decision.