Erithacus

Yes, a sound result at the end. I was a little concerned that Wednesday's game would leave a scar but the girls managed to produce a reaction. It may have taken a while against a determined and organised Oxford side who didn't take to the back foot, but in the end it was a return to winning ways. With a few regulars dropped and a slight shuffling of the pack, today's side was asked to take the game back at the HPC. Things were fairly even to begin with but a strike in stoppage time of the first half was the spark we needed. A second just after the restart was just the ticket and the girls pulled away for the rest of the game. Good performances from the returning Aimee Palmer and Syme was clearly grateful for that, enjoying a bit more space and finding the net with another long-range shot. Maddie Wilde looked lively until a slight knock late on; Jodie Hutton was reliable in the wide position for spreading the play; Shania Hayles kept working and keeping the defenders on their toes and Abi Harrison was her usual threat from all angles. Gracie Pearse looked class and was solid at the back. When she came on Jess Woolley showed lots of desire and talent - perhaps her best game so far - and rounded it off with a well taken goal (is that her first senior strike?). All in all, an improving display and a one to dispel the misery of the Man City game. Here's to the draw for the next round.

Thing is, do you remember The Season That No-one Saw? It was perhaps a good job we weren't there in person to witness the dire football.

All good points, HM. It is an interesting point and a question I have asked many times - what is the difference between the footballing genders? Given the massive professional input (but not quite the salaries) that women's football has these days, it remains a distinct point that the girls will meet and greet the fans after the match. I appreciate that men mingling with fans after a game has more serious concerns regarding safety, but it strikes me that this is a real difference. Could it be that in the future there might well be safety concerns and women players will be dissueded from this custom? Would fans be offended if the players hung around for selfies after a battering? If so, would it be considered equality?

The goal was rather under siege tonight, and perhaps exposed a few weaknesses. Second half was better and she held some long-range shots well. Not a surprising outcome but a disappointing performance. We hardly had a look in and Man City won at a canter. Having begun in a goal-every-ten-minutes pace, the outcome was forgone very quickly. It was attck versus defence for the entire ninety. Our turnover time was a matter of a few seconds and the possession stats won't be pretty. With the likes of Palmer and Fi Morgan out we had little bite and were unable to provide width and pace. Emily Syme was left floundering in midfield and the left side of defence was oddly arranged. Hayley Raso was left alone on the wing and, even thought there were five across the back at times, she was still unmarked for a long time. Goals flowed from that position. Clearly we were up against some serious international class players and were taught some painful lessons. But it took some time to adjust to the opponents and I watched with dismay as Abi Harrison slowly slipped further back as the game went on. She finished just in front of the back four - symptomatic of the night. Few City players will have emerged with much credit, but I did feel Layzell was the pick of the defenders and Maddy Wilde looked useful when she came on. Also young Slocombe was given a few minutes experience and had some desire about her. The use of Ashton Gate is a natural one for the crowd (2600) but the atmosphere tonight was tepid. Pity, as it could be a real advantage and as others have noted, the HPC is not really big enough for WSL fixtures. Lauren Smith is on record as thinking there wouldn't be a big gulf between the two teams; that has proved salutory. But tonight isn't the be all and end all. It is a useful measure though, and if this side is to top the Championship then it will need to be much better next season. Still, lessons are often learned in the heat of battle and perhaps these will be important in the long term. Now we need to look ahead to an FA Cup fixture this Sunday and hopefully it will be more to our liking. Then a good run to the end of the league season will put tonight's game into better perspective.

The league obviously didn't produce many wingers back then. Multi-ball games must have happened too.

Pity, but not unexpected. Hope not many people will have travelled and been inconvenienced. Still, at least the girls will have a few more days to rest the legs in time for Man City. Surely that won't be postponed.

Bruce out! Who will take over though? If they can only get Scott (Tread) Mills to replace Steve Wright then who is in line for the prime Morning Show. Both the two most listened-to programmes on R2 will be under new management; I bet the suits at the Beeb are twitching.

An exciting end to the game when the girls overturned a 1-goal deficit and relieved some anxious coaches. Have to commend them for keeping the desire going right until the final whistle and showing some determination. It was an important result and perhaps highlighted the slight rustiness of post-Christmas. Going a goal up early on was no surprise but the girls seemed to take their foot off the throttle. Coventry made it difficult by packing the midfield and were clearly looking to stifle the pattern of play. However, the game became more broken and possession turned over rapidly for most of the duration. Aimee Palmer and Emily Symes are normally the driving force of the team but they drifted out of play for too long. Without the edge in midfield, Coventry were able to maintain a presence, which eventually allowed them to pick out a couple of long balls over the defenders; both goals owed a lot to slack marking. One of their players suffered a bad fall right in front of me, rolling and hitting the back of her head on the ground; she seemed shaken up by the knock and had to go off, presumably under concussion protocol. Once the girls went behind with time running out, they finally got going again. The comeback may have had much to do with Coventry's keeper being injured in a clash with debutant Clinton and being subbed soon after. I don't know how good their second choice is but the two goals put past her looked unstoppable. I feel sorry for the visitors: it must have been sickening for them, what with the injuries and the turnaround at the end. Hence there were a few indignant challenges, including a short flare-up as well. Clinton looked more than useful, attacking purposefully and will hopefully carry on in similar vein. Abi Harrison's header right at the end of stoppage time was a reward for the varied positional and tactical work she put in today. But over all the impression was one of a game largely spent in third gear. They can't be happy about the full 90 minutes and will have to be much better next week against London City. I also worry that this result might paper over a few cracks. Still, it's a 'W' and the table looks better for it.

Seems like the focus on the failure is centred around the LauncherOne system that was carried under the Jumbo. It is designed and built in America by Virgin Galactic, and was carried across the Altantic to Newquay. With two rockets to propel it, the first (Newton3) is the main thrust, and the second (Newton4) fires a couple of times to send it into the correct orbit altitude. Inital thoughts are that the Newton4 did not fire properly, possibly due to fuel/Lox supply faults. Hence it did not reach the intended height and dropped back to Earth. The vehicle and its contents appear to have been caught on a videocam on the ground, burning up on re-entry. This is not a huge blow to Virgin (or Britain for that matter) but the big issue is cash. Mr Branson is certainly wealthy enough (much more than Mr Lansdown!) but will not spunk millions if he cannot have chance to own more of a slice/be compensated in time. There will be more attempts, have no doubt, but it may take a little longer now.

As the old saying goes...Typical Virgin - didn't go all the way. There appears to be a good fusion of various parties from all over the world and I hope that the relative success of most of the mission will encourage customers to stay with the long-term vision.

Cosmic Girl back on the ground. That bit went well.

Cosmic Girl on way back home now. However, there seems to be an anomaly with the launcher now. 'Houston, we have a problem...' etc.

Smooth take-off from Cornwall. Seems to be a large crowd gathered in the cold and dark with a bit of a party atmosphere - a mini Glasto with a Cape Kennedy flavour.

If all goes to plan the rocket will ignite around midnight and disappear from sight pretty quickly. Hope the cameras will be able to see well enough. And with that, Britain will have a working space port. Fingers crossed.

And with an OT loss to the Seahawks the reigning Superbowl champions Rams finish the season with a 5-12 record. Quite some comedown. Meanwhile the race to get on the playoff bus has left a few others behind too. It's that time of year; the real football starts now!

Really? Do the men train at the Bears' centre too? Why is there a need to 'share' facilities at our state-of-the-art facilities?

I note former player Sophie Ingle has been made an OBE for services to football. Bravo!

The argument is that if you give a gong to everyone who played, you will have some who came on for five minutes or so getting one too. Then you think about the non-playing squad members. Should they get one as well? The coaches? (Weigman is now an honourary CBE, note.) The kitman? The agents? Et cetera... The protracted and illogical way the boys of '66 finally got something is a prime example of the lack of consistency in the honours system. After all, who gives the nod (in any field, not just football)? Certainly not Charles III. It is an environment where there are lots of opinions but not a great deal of substance. Either way, the list tries to highlight some of the things that go on that don't really get the publicity at times and we would be in a poorer state if they did not happen. Yes, it's a strange and puzzling system.

It's a phrase that isn't used much these days, but was often used after a controversial moment in a commentary. Typically 'It's within the laws but not in the spirit of the game'. When I saw Pele in action he was the very epitome of the spirit, with so much talent but class and humility that we struggle to find now. He would conjour up some piece of magic that no-one had ever dared to dream of. But perhaps the enduring image of him was his smile: a smile that was genuine, expressive of the untainted and unalloyed pure joy that the game can engender. The sort that a child will experience before growing up. Love has no better advocate. He coined the term 'Beautiful Game'. He was the one who made it so. It was an inevitible moment, one we will all have to bow to but tonight is a night when the world has lost more than one soul, one player, one individual. Pele will never be replaced or forgotten. O Rei, Adeus e Obrigado

I was fresh out of the oven in the winter of '63 so I don't remember anything about it. Suffice to say my parents managed to keep me warm enough and I like winters but still have a fixation with blankets.

I saw him kick a 4-pt fieldgoal at Murrayfield. If he can still kick some rear ends as well he may be just the man for the job.

I went to an evening hosted by the acclaimed broadcaster, Neil Oliver. He encouraged women to marry a historian - because they get more interesting as they get older. I think there's more than a hint of truth about that sort of thinking. Find the series on UKTV hub. For a non-Londoner I found it very interesting. A fantastic resource for all who have our past at heart and widely used here. Possibly the best thing Bristol council has ever had a hand in creating.

I thought that was two teams equally as poor as the other. If either get into the playoffs they won't last a week on that showing. Meanwhile the Broncos are being humbled, despite having a top rated D. Some internal disagreements on that bench today. Teams are getting Xs and Ys on the standings, but others are just X-rated.

It seems to be an NFL tradition, although it's also prominent with the NBA too. America is a very diverse lot, with the approach to Christmas equally so, and there is a game or two played on Thanksgiving Day for example. Unusually, a lot of games are taking place on Christmas Eve this season - save a few on the day itself. Still, it beats watching some dreary old film on the other channels. ????

The NFL is a law unto itself when it comes to weather getting in the way of a game. They tend to simply wait until the field is cleared and the stadium open again - whenever that happens. Even if it's the small hours. Still, it brings home the flavour of play-off football into sharp focus.