Foxes Start Pre-Season With A Win
Jutta Rantala, Noémie Mouchon and Yuka Momiki were on the scoresheet for the Foxes in their first pre-season friendly on Wednesday afternoon when the Black Cats made the trip to the East Midlands, providing the first opposition of the 2023/24 season.
The visitors took an early lead through a first half penalty, but it was Leicester who looked dangerous throughout the remainder of that period, coming close when Saori Takarada found the gloves of former Foxes 'keeper Demi Lambourne before Missy Goodwin got herself into a good position but fired over the bar.
In the second half, a completely different 11 took the field with several U21 Academy players given a chance to impress across the 90 minutes, including the likes of Simone Sherwood, Nelly Las, Poppy Groves and Amya Hammond-McLean.
An equaliser was achieved through last season’s top goalscorer when Rantala found the net, having first been supplied by Momiki, before summer signing Mouchon spun her defender on the edge of the box and fired an effort into the bottom corner, giving the hosts the lead.
The afternoon’s events were completed late on when Momiki, who was provider for the first, bundled in a low cross from Rantala, keen to repay the favour for her goal, completing the comeback and with it a first win for Leicester.
Fast approaching for the Foxes is a pre-season tour to Australia, where they will face Manchester City in the inaugural Perth International Football Cup on Wednesday 28 August (11:15am BST kick-off) before facing either Paris-Saint Germain or West Ham United on Sunday 1 September.