Durham hero Sarah Robson was full of praise for the Wildcats faithful after a sold-out crowd roared them on to a memorable penalty shoot-out win over Manchester United in the Continental Tyres Cup.
Experienced centre-back Robson was the hero of the hour for her side on a dramatic night at Maiden Castle after popping up with the injury-time header which took their WSL opponents to penalties.
Durham’s fans are key to success
And despite her team’s on-field heroics, the 35-year-old defender singled out the Durham fans for special praise:
“This place is full is always full. We have 800-900 fans against teams nobody knows much about. It’s the work that goes on behind the scenes that build our fanbase and keeps them coming back.
“They drive us on,” added Robson.
Durham coming from behind supported by the fans
Embed from Getty ImagesDurham had to twice come from behind against the WSL high fliers. But just like the team on the pitch, the capacity crowd kept believing throughout.
“We have a lot of young fans that came for the first time this season and have continued to come. It’s something a lot of clubs can learn off. Although it is a lot of work, it is something we thrive off.”
“You could see at the end there how much they get behind us – we thought most of them would be shouting for the Lionesses girls, but they wanted us to win, they cheered us and got behind us. That is what it is about, it’s about growing our fanbase.”
“When a tackle goes in, or a goal is scored, we can hear them. It gives you the lift especially when they’re bringing the likes of Nikita Parris off the bench because you know you need to keep pressing and keep playing well.”
Supporting Durham every week
“Every week they are the same. They fight alongside us every week, they go with us, they come to lose with us, they come to win with us, and come all over the country with us – we want to keep building it and growing it because that is what it is all about.”
