Bristol City welcomed a record crowd of 14,138 fans to Ashton Gate on Sunday, as Lauren Smith’s outfit faced a Manchester United side that have struggled to find form as of late. Defeated in embarrassing fashion at Old Trafford by their cross-city rivals last weekend, Marc Skinner would be hoping that a midweek Conti Cup win had restored confidence amongst the United ranks.
BCI: Clark; Powell, Layzell, Connolly, Aspin, Morgan; Jones, Rodgers, Harrison, Napier; Thestrup
MUN: Earps; Blundell, Le Tissier, Turner, Rivière; Zelem, Toone; Galton, Miyazawa, Parris; Geyse
A chaotic start to Sunday’s action in BS3 saw Leah Galton’s blistering run on the left flank brought to an abrupt halt by a challenge from Brooke Aspin, leaving both players requiring treatment. They were fine to continue though, and the resulting free-kick forced a corner that saw Hannah Blundell test Liv Clark with a thunderous first-time strike.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Welsh international would understandably be the busier of the two ‘keepers throughout the first half, called upon again just seconds later to deny Nikita Parris before testing efforts from Geyse and Millie Turner – the latter of whom saw her headed effort palmed behind for a corner.
But the mood at Ashton Gate was somewhat dampened as the half-hour mark approached, with Aspin appearing to be in serious discomfort with a recurrence of her earlier injury. The defender was hauled down the tunnel on a stretcher, to be replaced by Chloe Mustaki with just 28 minutes played.
A flurry of free-kicks towards the end of the first half could have provided the Red Devils with an opportunity to seize the lead before the break – but Ella Toone rifled over the bar before Galton saw her strike skewed wide of the woodwork.
Just before a lengthy eight-minute period of stoppage time, Bristol City had their first chance of note as Amy Rodgers glanced a headed effort towards the bottom-right corner – though a fine save from Mary Earps denied the home crowd a glorious moment before the interval.
But the match swung in Manchester United’s favour once more just five minutes into the second half, when a long-range strike from Hinata Miyazawa took a deflection off substitute Mustaki, misguiding Clark in the process as the ball rolled over the line.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe floodgates then seemed to open, with Parris adding a second goal merely five minutes later as she rose to head home from the centre of the box following a pinpoint delivery from Ella Toone on the left flank. It would certainly be a killer blow for the Robins, who had come close to restoring parity through Amalie Thestrup’s near-post effort just seconds after Miyazawa’s opener.
The third goal looked to have come courtesy of Parris on the 65th minute as the winger arrived at the back post to slam home Toone’s teasing ball from inside the box, but her tap-in was disallowed by the officials.
Mari Ward thought she’d be able to claw one back for the hosts as the match entered the final ten minutes, but smart goalkeeping at the near post from Mary Earps denied the substitute from cueing wild celebrations amongst the home fans in BS3.
Bristol City’s next excursion in the Barclays Women’s Super League sees them travel to Liverpool on December 10, with Manchester United heading to the capital city on the same date to face Tottenham Hotspur.