Durham Women fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Celtic as Willie Kirk took charge of his first game in front of supporters at Mariners Park.
The result is the penultimate pre-season fixture for the Blues, with a trip to Liverpool waiting before the regular season commences.
It was also a debut in South Shields for Durham, as the Club prepares to host a number of fixtures in South Tyneside during the upcoming season.
Kirk handed a debut to Olivia Fergusson, along with the returning Dee Bradley for her third stint in front of Blues fans.
New signing Maddy McComasky was among the substitutes, alongside youngsters Ellen-Marie Atkinson, Lucy Noble, Ellen Swan and Lleucu Mathias.
Celtic took an early lead inside ten minutes courtesy of debutant Izzy Fisher’s looping header.
Fisher would try their luck ten minutes later with an attempted chip over Cat Sheppard, but her effort was easily saved.
There were limited chances in the remainder of the first half, with Durham’s first opportunity of the second period coming when Lucy Watson’s free-kick outside the area troubled Adelaide Gay in the Celtic net.
Watson then fired over after a slick passing move before Grace Ede was superbly denied by Gay after connecting with a sweetly-struck volley inside the box.
Despite the result, Kirk’s side were able to log valuable minutes against a tough opposition.
