Southampton, Sunderland and Newcastle all picked up victories as the new WSL 2 season got underway, while Ipswich and Nottingham Forest shared the points
The new WSL 2 campaign got underway over the weekend, with plenty of early storylines emerging across the division.
Southampton made the perfect start with a 3-1 victory away at Durham, while Sunderland produced the biggest win of the opening weekend by beating Bristol City 4-1.
Newcastle United also began their campaign with three points after defeating newly promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0.
Elsewhere, Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest played out a 1-1 draw, while Sheffield United suffered a narrow defeat to Leicester City and Watford and Burnley shared the points in a goalless draw.
With only one automatic promotion place available this season, the race for the top of the table got off to an intriguing start.
Southampton came from behind to beat Durham
The two sides went into half-time level at 0-0 before Southampton broke the deadlock shortly after the restart.
Ellie Brazil opened the scoring in the 49th minute before Aimee Ferguson doubled Southampton's advantage just five minutes later.
Durham pulled one back late on through S. Wilson in the 88th minute, but Southampton restored their two-goal advantage almost immediately as M. Collett struck in the 86th minute.
The result gave Southampton an important three points on the road and provided an encouraging start to their campaign.
Sunderland produced the biggest win
Sunderland were the standout winners of the opening weekend as they defeated Bristol City 4-1.
Bristol City took the lead through L. Lindström in the 14th minute, but Sunderland responded before half-time through R. Roberts to make it 1-1.
The hosts then took control after the break.
K. Kitching put Sunderland ahead in the 50th minute before K. Watson added two more goals in the 77th and 83rd minutes to complete an emphatic victory.
It was an impressive response from Sunderland after falling behind early and gave them an early boost in what is expected to be a competitive promotion race.
Newcastle began with a clean sheet
Newcastle United also started strongly, beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0.
The hosts needed just eight minutes to take the lead, with B. Lumsden finding the net early on.
Their advantage was doubled 10 minutes later when G. Marshall turned the ball into her own net.
Newcastle were able to protect their two-goal lead for the remainder of the match, securing three points and a clean sheet.
The result was a positive start for a Newcastle side widely tipped to challenge near the top of the division this season.
Ipswich and Forest shared the points
Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest played out a 1-1 draw in a closely contested opening fixture.
Neither side was able to find the breakthrough before half-time, but Forest eventually took the lead in the 58th minute through A. Murphy.
Ipswich continued to push for an equaliser and were rewarded deep into stoppage time.
M. Hornby struck in the 93rd minute to rescue a point for the hosts, with M. McAteer providing the assist.
It meant both sides left with a point, although Ipswich's late equaliser ensured they avoided starting the campaign with defeat.
Leicester edged past Sheffield United
Leicester City secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Sheffield United.
The game remained goalless until the 55th minute, when L. Cowan turned the ball into her own net to give Leicester the lead.
Sheffield United were unable to find a response and Leicester held on for the three points.
The result was made more difficult for Leicester late on when E. Pelgander was sent off after receiving a second yellow card in the 86th minute.
Despite finishing the match with 10 players, Leicester maintained their advantage to begin the campaign with a victory.
Watford and Burnley played out a goalless draw
There was little to separate Watford and Burnley as the two sides played out a 0-0 draw.
Neither team was able to find the breakthrough, meaning both newly promoted sides collected a point from their first WSL 2 fixture of the season.
For Burnley, it marked their first WSL 2 campaign after earning promotion from the third tier last season, while Watford returned to the division after securing promotion.
An intriguing start to the promotion race
The opening weekend provided an early glimpse of what could be another competitive WSL 2 campaign.
Southampton, Sunderland and Newcastle all picked up victories, while Leicester also got three points on the board.
Ipswich and Nottingham Forest showed plenty of resilience to share the points, while Watford and Burnley played out a stalemate in their first games back in the division.
With only the champions guaranteed automatic promotion and the teams immediately below them facing a more complicated route through the play-offs, every point could prove crucial as the season develops.
The first weekend is now in the books, with the promotion race already beginning to take shape.
