Sunderland Ladies star Beth Mead 'fine' after injury scare

The star Lady Black Cats star striker was stretchered off 10 minutes into the second half of last night’s crucial bottom of the table clash at Hetton.

Mead went down heavily after a collision with a Rovers defender and was down on the turf for over five minutes with initial fears she may have suffered a whiplash injury.

But the 21-year-old said she was more concerned about staying on and scoring more goals – she was on a hat-trick when the incident happened.

“I was a bit frustrated,” said the forward who netted twice in the first half.

“I know the medical people have a job to do but I felt fine and wanted to get more goals.

“They said because it was my neck it could be serious. Thankfully I was OK. I feel absolutely fine.”

Mead’s double led the way for Carlton Fairweather’s side with Hayley Sharp and Brooke Chaplen also on the mark.

The win lifted Sunderland six points clear of the relegation zone, though Rovers have four games in hand.

But it was the perfect start to the second half of the WSL1 season.

“We played really well as a team,” she said. “We knew what was up for grabs - we had to win and get the three points.

“If you’d offered us 4-0 before the game, we’d have snatched your hand off.”