There are forwards who score goals and there are forwards who seem to carry goals with them, as if stitched into their stride and waiting to be released at the slightest invitation. Emily Scarr belongs
firmly in the latter category — a player whose evolution over the past few seasons has been one of the most compelling individual stories in the women’s game outside the top flight.
In a Sunderland AFC Women side that’s lurched between promise and frustration, between encouraging spells and deeply mixed form, Scarr has been the player who, even on the bleakest afternoons, has offered a spark of clarity.
Her attacking output hasn’t simply been a matter of numbers, though the numbers themselves tell a persuasive story.
It’s also the manner of her performances, the relentlessness of her movement, the intelligence of her positioning, the maturity in her decision‑making that’s turned her into a genuinely standout performer in the WSL2. Sunderland may not have found consistency, but Scarr has, and in a league where momentum is everything, her reliability has been priceless.
Her rise has been particularly striking because of how incremental it’s been, and how she earned it.
Scarr didn’t burst onto the scene in a blaze of overnight brilliance. She built her game brick by brick, season by season, adding layers of nuance and confidence that now allow her to influence matches in multiple ways. Her improvement has been steady but unmistakable — the kind of upward curve that coaches love because it speaks to both talent and temperament.
She’s become a forward who can hurt teams in a variety of ways. Sunderland have leaned heavily on that versatility during 2025/2026, and her adaptability has been one of her most valuable traits.
Scarr can play through the middle as a traditional striker, occupying centre backs, pinning defensive lines, and providing a focal point for Sunderland’s build‑up play, but she’s equally comfortable operating from the wing, where her directness, acceleration, and ability to attack the inside channels make her a persistent threat.
This duality has allowed Sunderland to adjust their shape depending on the opponent, the match situation, or the availability of other forwards.
When the team has needed a central presence, Scarr has provided it. When they needed width, she’s stretched the pitch — and when they’ve sought someone to drop in and link play, she’sdone that too, becoming a kind of tactical “Swiss Army knife”.
Her hold‑up play has become one of the most underrated aspects of her game.
Though not the glamorous part of being a forward, it’s the glue that holds attacking sequences together. Scarr has developed a knack for receiving the ball under pressure, using her body intelligently, and buying her team precious seconds to advance up the pitch. She shields the ball well, rolls defenders with increasing confidence, and has learned when to release the ball quickly and when to slow the tempo.
This ability to act as a pivot has been crucial for a Sunderland side that’s often struggled to control matches or sustain pressure. When the team has needed an outlet, Scarr has been there, offering a reliable target and a platform from which to build, and her hold‑up play has become a kind of quiet leadership; a way of steadying the team in moments when games threaten to slip away.
However , for all the tactical value she brings, it’s her finishing that continues to define her.
Scarr is, above all else, a goalscorer. A forward who understands the geometry of the penalty area, who senses where the ball will drop, who knows how to shape her body to generate power or precision depending on the moment.
Her goals this season have showcased the full range of her repertoire: instinctive first‑time finishes, composed one‑on‑ones, headers guided into corners, and strikes from tight angles that required both technique and audacity.
She’s become clinical in a way that separates good forwards from dangerous ones and whenever she gets a sight of goal, there’s a growing inevitability about what comes next. Her finishing has become a kind of signature — a defining trait that opponents know is coming but still struggle to stop.
What makes her finishing particularly impressive is how often she creates her own chances.
Scarr isn’t a forward who waits passively for service; instead, she manufactures opportunities through her movement, her anticipation, and her willingness to press defenders into mistakes. She reads loose balls quicker than most, reacts faster, and has the acceleration to turn half‑chances into genuine threats.
In a Sunderland side that hasn’t always been fluent in possession, this self‑sufficiency has been invaluable. She has scored goals that other forwards simply would not have had the initiative to chase. It is this blend of instinct and industry that has made her such a reliable source of goals in a team that has often struggled to create them.
Her rise over the past few seasons has been shaped by a growing sense of authority in her play. Earlier in her career, Scarr was a player who showed flashes — moments of promise, glimpses of what she could become. Now she is a player who imposes herself on matches, who demands the ball, who leads the line with conviction. Her confidence has grown in tandem with her responsibilities, and she has embraced the role of being one of Sunderland’s primary attacking outlets.
Even when the team has struggled, she’s maintained her standards and continues to produce performances that reflect both her individual quality and her commitment to the collective.
Sunderland’s form this season has only served to highlight her importance.
During a campaign in which results have fluctuated and consistency has been elusive, Scarr has been the steadying force, the player who can change the mood of a match with a single run, a single touch and a single finish. Her goals have kept Sunderland competitive in games where they might otherwise have faded, and her work rate has set the tone for the press.
Her versatility has also given the coaching staff tactical flexibility and her resilience has been a quiet but essential part of the team’s identity. Although Sunderland have often struggled to find the best version of themselves, Scarr has been the player that’s most consistently embodied what they want to be.
There’s also a sense that Scarr is still improving and adding new dimensions to her game.
Her decision‑making in the final third has sharpened. Her link‑up play has become more sophisticated and her movement off the ball is more varied and more deceptive. She’s learning how to manipulate defenders, how to create separation, and how to time her runs to exploit gaps.
These are the hallmarks of a forward who isn’t content to be good, but who’s intent on becoming exceptional.
Her development has been a study in incremental gains. She’s adding something new to her game each season, and each campaign has revealed another layer of her potential. It’s this trajectory that makes her such an exciting prospect — not just for Sunderland but for the league as a whole.
Her adaptability has also made her a more complete player. When deployed as a striker, she offers presence, power, and penalty‑box instincts. When used on the wing, she brings pace, directness, and the ability to isolate full‑backs. She can drift inside to combine with midfielders, or stay wide to stretch defensive lines.
This tactical flexibility has made her indispensable, particularly in a season where Sunderland have had to navigate injuries, dips in form and structural adjustments. Scarr has been the player who can plug gaps, solve problems, and provide solutions in multiple areas of the pitch. Her versatility has become a kind of insurance policy for the coaching staff; a guarantee that no matter the shape or the opponent, they have a forward who can adapt.
Her hold‑up play — once a developing aspect of her game — has now become a genuine strength. She uses her frame intelligently, positions herself between defender and ball, and has learned how to draw fouls in dangerous areas. She can also bring midfielders into play with a cushioned lay‑off or spin away from pressure to drive at the backline.
This ability to operate with her back to goal has added a new dimension to Sunderland’s attack, allowing the team to transition more effectively and maintain possession higher up the pitch. It’s also made her a more complete forward — one who can contribute even when she is not scoring — and can influence games in subtle but significant ways.
And then, there’s Scarr’s finishing: the the part of her game that continues to shine most brightly.
Scarr’s composure in front of goal has reached a level that makes her one of the WSL2’s most reliable forwards. She doesn’t snatch at chances and she doesn’t panic. She picks her spot, trusts her technique, and executes with a calmness that belies the speed of the moment.
Whether it’s a low drive across the goalkeeper, a lofted finish over an advancing defender or a first‑time strike from a cut‑back, Scarr has shown she can score in a variety of ways. Her goals are not just frequent — they’re often decisive. They’re the goals that change games, that shift momentum, that turn draws into wins and potential losses into salvaged points.
What makes her finishing particularly effective is her ability to read the game.
Anticipating where the ball will be before it arrives, she positions herself in pockets of space that defenders overlook and times her runs to arrive at exactly the right moment. This instinct can’r be taught — it’s the product of hours of repetition, studying defenders and of understanding the flow of the match.
Scarr has developed this instinct to a level that makes her a constant threat even when she appears quiet. She’s always one movement away from changing the game and it’s this sense that she’s always lurking, always waiting and always ready that makes her such a difficult player to defend against.
She’s become a player who sets standards, drives the team forward embodies the resilience that Sunderland have needed in a difficult campaign. Her development has been a kind of quiet revolution; a transformation built on hard work, intelligence, and a refusal to settle.
And yet, for all the analysis, all the tactical nuance, all the discussion of her development, there is also the simple joy of watching her play.
Scarr plays with a sense of purpose but also with a sense of freedom. She enjoys the game, embraces the physical battles and relishes the opportunity to test herself against defenders who think they can contain her. There’s a certain inevitability about the way she plays now; a sense that she understands her own strengths more clearly than ever.
When Sunderland are struggling to find fluency, she drags them up the pitch, forces the issue and injects urgency into passages of play that threaten to drift. When they’re on top, she becomes the finisher, the one who turns pressure into goals, territory into rewards half‑chances into defining moments.
She’s grown into a footballer who shapes matches rather than simply participating in them, and that evolution has been one of the few unqualified positives in a season that has often felt like a test of endurance so far.
And then, of course, there are the celebrations, the wonderfully unapologetic knee‑slides that have become as recognisable as her goals. There’s something disarmingly joyful about them, they’re a throwback to playground football and a reminder that even during the grind of a long WSL2 season, Scarr still finds room for a bit of theatre.
The grass at Eppleton has probably suffered more from her sliding than from the winter weather, and there is always a moment, just as she launches herself forward, when you wonder whether she’s about to skid into the advertisement hoardings! But that’s part of the charm. It’s the release, the punctuation mark, the flourish at the end of another move she’s crafted with precision.
In a season during which Sunderland have needed reasons to smile, Scarr has provided them, with goals, graft, and the occasional knee‑slide that looks like it should come with a health warning for groundskeepers.
