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Bristol City Women - WSL


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First time up the new gaffe.

The HPC is a good place for the girls now, great surface - better than Twerton in many respects. However, one thing that strikes me is that the stand faces south - hence everyone there was doing the 'Dolman Salute'. Come winter the sun will be right in the line of sight. Small things, I know.

The game was not too bad considering that City are largely a completely new squad. Only a handful of players stayed on after relegation. We also have a new coaching set-up, as well as changes in the boardroom. Hence, it will be wrong to criticise heavilly a club that is essentially starting afresh. There were a number of good point s that will be the foundation of the season. The formation and roles seem fair, the fitness showed at the end noticeably and there was plenty of desire. Coming back from a goal down wasn't a gimme against Lewes.

Inevitably there were several mis-cues and a few players drifted out for a while. But overall it was a performance that was rewarded with the win (and who doesn't like a big W?). I was happy with Murray at centre-half: she shut down a lot of probing attacks. Abi Harrison was a real handful up front and caused the Lewes defence problems all game, and she'll be City's spearhead this season.

Overall impressions: a decent outfit - not a cert for promotion, but no fear of relelgation either this time round. Unexpectedly large crowd of 500 odd - considering it was a new stadium and some won't feel inclined, and the England game was on. Hopefully it will be a happy home for the future.

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Great post @Erithacus. Good point in regards to the stand facing south. I don't know if the club ever had an intention of any team playing games there long term. I was standing in the shade but I'll be prepared for future games!

England game kicked off at 5pm, but I forgot it was on as I went back to record the latest episode of Vixencast podcast (details in other thread).

Glad that City didn't settle for a draw!

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Flo Allen, who limped off the game last week has sadly confirmed on her Instagram that she is now injured

"Football and life is a rollercoaster of emotions and unfortunately in the game last Sunday I tore my calf muscle. Having only just made a full recovery after testing positive for coronavirus last month I’ve now picked up an injury just as the season has started. This has not been how I wanted to start the season, but sometimes these things happen.


On a positive note it was so nice to play our first game at home last Sunday in front of such a passionate home crowd, you really made a difference. I can’t wait to get back out on that pitch once I return to full fitness… again!"

https://www.instagram.com/p/CTpYlDMIXj_/?utm_medium=copy_link

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Decent, entertaining game, with both teams going down to 10 players due to red cards. Happy to settle with a point. My throat is sore after us away fans were singing throughout most of the game! On the drive back down from Birkenhead.

City now 7th heading into international break.

https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/report-liverpool-women-0-0-bristol-city-women/

Edited by shahanshahan
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https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/domestic-livestream-available-for-luton-test/

"City Women’s Head Coach Lauren Smith will be the guest and co-commentator for the midweek fixture, offering an insight into the women’s squad and their performances ahead of their clash with Durham at the Robins High Performance Centre on Sunday, September 26th (12pm)"

I'd love to hear what she says, but I'm actually attending the game at Ashton Gate! ?

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Conti Cup group fixture details have now been confirmed.

Reading v Bristol City
Wed 13 Oct 2021, 7:30pm
Select Car Leasing Stadium

Bristol City v Lewes
Wed 17 Nov 2021, 7:30pm
Robins High Performance Centre

Crystal Palace v Bristol City
Wed 15 Dec 2021, 7:30pm
Bromley FC

Will be really surprised if the team make it to the final for the second season in a row!

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2 hours ago, Davefevs said:

I watched about 20 mins of each half.  Thought we looked a bit laboured out there, lacked any real pace.

We clearly are not spending enough on the quality of recruited players. Poor display today and would not be surprised if we sink again at the end of the season, unless better players are brought in.

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4 minutes ago, cidered abroad said:

We clearly are not spending enough on the quality of recruited players. Poor display today and would not be surprised if we sink again at the end of the season, unless better players are brought in.

Would be interesting to know what the budget is, and how it compares to the other teams in their league.

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3 hours ago, Kid in the Riot said:

Mens team players being in attendance is another Nige initiative. You'll see players at most, if not all, WFC games this season 

It's not a new thing as far as I'm aware. When City Women played Brighton at Ashton Gate in 2019, Kasey Palmer & Benik Afobe were in attendance

4 hours ago, cidercity1987 said:

Losing at home to Durham (who) 

One of the few independent teams in the league & not affiliated with a men's side. Have been one of the strongest teams in the Championship in the last few years

2 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Would be interesting to know what the budget is, and how it compares to the other teams in their league.

As far as I have heard, the overall budget is still the same, but while there is less on playing budget, more has gone into resources/facilities e.g training, keeping staff full time etc. We should have an advantage as one of the few fully professional teams, while others are still semi-professional.

Although Sunderland (our next opponents) were on top of the table, they are semi-professional, I believe. New leaders Sheffield United are also semi-professional

3 hours ago, cidered abroad said:

We clearly are not spending enough on the quality of recruited players. Poor display today and would not be surprised if we sink again at the end of the season, unless better players are brought in.

The recruitment has been well considering the amount of players that left over the summer. A huge problem was that a lot of players were out of contract (and contracts for players unfortunately aren't so long - a season, at least), and some already had plans on moving on, and others were offered new opportunities elsewhere

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2 hours ago, shahanshahan said:

Kory Cook announced as new matchday announcer for all home games. Previous announcer Dan White now does Robins TV presenting/co-commentary, and in the last two home games, Dave Barton & Downsy were the announcers respectively...

 

Getting old….his old man was my young strike partner many moons ago.

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For those watching today's game, my fellow Vixencast co-host & SCT board member D-M Withers has contributed to this fan preview for Sunderland fans' Roker Report page. Also includes contributions from Dan Carter from Bristol Live.

Tickets will now be available on the gate for the first time this season, plus streaming for free on Robins TV, YouTube & Facebook

 

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