Payne: Another Tough Test Awaits

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Payne: Another Tough Test Awaits

Heather Payne says LCFC Women are aware of the challenge to come against Newcastle United on Sunday.

2026-09-26T09:00+01:00

by Sam Jones

Published

26 Sep, 2026

Payne: Another Tough Test Awaits

Heather Payne says LCFC Women are aware of the challenge to come against Newcastle United on Sunday.

Sam Jones

2026-09-26T09:00+01:00

Payne: Another Tough Test Awaits

Heather Payne says LCFC Women are aware of the challenge to come against Newcastle United on Sunday.

Sam Jones

2026-09-26T09:00+01:00

Payne: Another Tough Test Awaits

Heather Payne says LCFC Women are aware of the challenge to come against Newcastle United on Sunday.

Sam Jones

2026-09-26T09:00+01:00

Payne: Another Tough Test Awaits

Heather Payne says LCFC Women are aware of the challenge to come against Newcastle United on Sunday.

Sam Jones

2026-09-26T09:00+01:00

Newcastle United host LCFC Women in WSL2 on Sunday afternoon (2pm kick-off)
Foxes full-back Heather Payne looked ahead to the trip to Gateshead International Stadium
The Republic of Ireland international also reflected on learnings from our defeat to Ipswich Town

Travelling to Gateshead International Stadium for a 2pm kick-off, the Foxes sit fourth in Barclays WSL2 heading into this weekend’s fixture.

Losing out to Ipswich Town in our last league encounter, a first reverse of the campaign, Payne is keen to return to winning ways in the North East, but knows it won’t be easy against Tanya Oxtoby’s side, who lie at the top of the second-tier table.

City, though, have enjoyed a positive start, with wins over Sheffield United and Durham to start the season, providing momentum and confidence which the Republic of Ireland defender wants to recapture.

Back in the starting XI against Ipswich.

“I think coming into the game, we knew Ipswich were a good side and we need to reflect on what we did well, what we did badly and learn from this going forward,” she analysed on our home defeat to the Tractor Girls last Sunday.

“We knew that would be a tougher side than what we’ve already played, but I don’t think we were good enough and we lacked a lot on the pitch, so we need to reflect and learn from it.

“This league is really competitive and one slip up and you’d lose three points. We’ve had a good start to the season, but it’s not good enough if you then slip up on the third game. So, we need to take the positives and move on to the next game.

“It was great to start to first two games positively, but we want to finish at the top of this table, and that means every game you need to be getting points and that’s why we’re disappointed. But it’s very early on in the season and we have another tough test against Newcastle on Sunday, so that’s our focus now.

Building up to Newcastle.

“We’ve got quite a small squad at the moment with injuries, so I think it’s quite important that the squad recovers well. It’s three big games this week, especially after the loss to Ipswich, so that Newcastle game in the league will be a massive game for us.

“We know they’re a talented team that have recruited well so we want to recover well and hopefully be able to end the week on a positive note.”

Getting a first 90 minutes in the tank at King Power Stadium last weekend, the 26-year-old then played 75 minutes against London City Lionesses in the Subway Players Cup in midweek, and is now targeting a spot in Rick Passmoor’s side on a consistent basis.

“It’s been a long hard year for me,” Payne admitted. “I struggled with a lot of injuries and struggled to get game time and consistency so I was happy to get the start against Ipswich and get my first 90 minutes in a long time so hopefully I can kick on from there.”

All times BST.

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