SAFC Women kick off their Barclays Women’s Championship season on Sunday as they go head-to-head with Durham Women in the Wear Derby at Maiden Castle (KO 12:30pm). The Lasses had a clean sweep of victories in pre-season, beating Motherwell, Newcastle, Hibernian and Nottingham Forest in preparation for the new campaign. Goals from Grace McCatty, Louise Griffiths and Katy Watson secured their last pre-season win against Forest last weekend. Durham achieved a sixth-placed finish last season - finishing on 34 points in 24 games. As well as tying key players down to new contracts, the home side have strengthened their squad with Georgia Robert, Tatiana Saunders, Jess Clarke and most notably, Maria Farrugia, who played a key part in Mel Reay’s side last season with the Lasses. Last time out at Maiden Castle, the hosts won 3-0 against the Lasses, with the goals coming from Mollie Lambert, Dee Bradley and Beth Hepple. Tickets are sold out for Sunday’s game, with a huge atmosphere ex