The beginning of November saw Bristol heading to Bath, who had had a mixture of results in the season so far. UBWFC were looking to complete a clean sweep of victories for the first round of fixtures, and, of course, battle it out in a local grudge match for ultimate West Country supremacy! After some challenging car park navigation and an off-pitch tussle for a changing room, the real action kicked off at 2pm under difficult conditions with a sloping pitch and heavy winds.
Bath started strong with some good attacking play in the opening minutes, helpfully clattering the camera in the process - the first of several assaults on the day’s match footage. As Leila attempted to reconstruct the tripod, Bristol struggled to adjust to the difficult playing conditions. Despite some good counter-attacking moves with Hannah, playing in a new position on the right-hand side, Bath dominated the opening passages with multiple long balls down the right, causing Bristol to concede a corner after just seven minutes. The well-placed corner was poorly defended by Bristol and Bath headed home the opening goal from short range: 1-0.
After the re-start, Bristol attempted to re-focus and find their usual flow, but with limited success. There were some decent attacking chances from Marita and Hannah, but Bath continued their dominance on the right, creating chances with multiple long balls which Bristol struggled to defend. After a throw in on the halfway line, Bath sent a high ball forward which Bristol failed to clear and Bath subsequently broke through the defensive line on the right once again. A well-placed cross to the back left post picked out an unmarked player for a tap in, giving Bath a 2-0 lead inside 20 minutes.
It was time for Bristol to get a grip of this derby and show Bath how they play football!
With 20 minutes to go in the first half, Bristol finally started to find their groove. Marita battled hard up front, continually running in behind, leaving Bath’s defence in a spin, but struggling to really test the keeper. Hannah continued to work hard to adapt to her new position on the right wing, ably supported with some good link up play from the midfield three of Stella, Anna and Leah, and a tighter defensive shape across the pitch.
Following a number of crosses from both Sophie and Hannah, and a few wayward shots, Bristol won a right-side corner. Stella delivered a great ball but Bristol were unable to connect with any power and after a tense scramble for the ball in the six yard box, they came away empty handed once again. Determined not to let this pressure go unrewarded, Bristol continued to work hard out of possession to win the ball back. A few minutes before half time, a great midfield press on a Bath throw-in saw Leah win the ball back and play a direct through-ball to Marita on the left wing. Marita held the ball up well, passing inside to Anna before breaking on to the Bath back line. Stella played a beautiful ball over the top between the two centre backs and Marita slotted home a calm finish in the top right corner. 2-1…Game on!
After a stern-worded half-time pitch talk from Bill (with only a handful of expletives…), the second half got underway. Bristol knew they needed to be more aggressive and decisive, be smarter in their individual battles and do the basics right. The half began much more positively for Bristol as they finally managed some decent attacking play on the left-hand side, with Meg getting her elbows out and battling to give some good passes through to Sophie. This was well supported by Stella and Anna in the centre, with Anna putting a great cross in, but even Marita’s long legs couldn’t get a touch on it.
Bristol’s attacking pressure continued throughout the opening passages after the restart, and defensively, the shape was much stronger and Sophie, Meg and Eve were better able to cope with Bath’s attempts to play down the right side. The momentum of the game began to swing in Bristol’s favour, with good passages of link up play in all areas of the pitch and some excellent saves from Betty in goal, but the conditions worsened, and stronger winds and lateral rain proved challenging for both teams…and the camera tripod.
But it’s well known that Bristol walks on water, so a little rain was not about to dampen this fight for three points…
After 20 minutes of action in the second half, Bristol continued to press high, their pressure rewarded when Marita quashed Bath’s attempt to play out from the back, putting pressure on the centre-back from a goal kick and forcing her to kick the ball straight to Stella’s feet. With acres of space and time on the ball, Stella picked out a beautiful cross (shot?) for Sophie in the box, who’s presence forced the Bath right back to poke the ball straight past her own keeper into the bottom corner. 2-2. Everything still to play for…
It was almost pathetic fallacy as dark clouds gathered overhead and the rain grew heavier, as the tension ramped up when Bath restarted the game; both teams were keen to come away with all three points. Bath made some changes and committed more players to their attack, whilst Bristol continued their momentum and confidence across the pitch. Bristol had some good attacking chances and several shots, but nothing which really challenged the keeper – lots of ‘catching practice’. Bath launched some good attacking moves of their own, in a new shape with more players in their attack, but Bristol dealt with them well, as Lizzie and Meg snuffed out balls down the outside flanks. After several failed attempts, Bath played a decent ball behind the back line and the shot produced an incredible save from Betty who was almost entirely flattened by the centre-forward in the process. Despite feeling very unwell and fearing a pitch-side chunder, Betty battled on like a true UBWFC legend and Bristol continued to press on.
A series of throw ins on the left hand side led to a beautiful fizzing cross from Sophie but the ball was just missed by Marita. With the tension mounting and 15 minutes to go, it was time for a Bristol change as Liv replaced Sophie on the left of the front three. Liv was involved straight away, the fresh legs proved vital as she won the ball in a high press and almost scored with a left-footed shot, winning a corner which Bristol failed to convert. As the clock approached 80 minutes, and the rain poured down, Bristol were determined to maintain their pressure.
SJ pressured the ball in the centre of the pitch from a Bath throw in at half-way, forcing them to play the ball back to their full-back. Pressure from Marita forced a wayward back pass, comfortably collected by Liv and played back to Hannah. After some silky footwork on the right side, Hannah switched play to the left, where Meg and Liv linked up well before Liv’s cross was forced out of the box, but, with a little luck, fell, once again, at Stella’s feet at the edge of the box. With one touch to settle the ball, Stella struck it beautifully with her right foot across her body and into the box, where the PhD Princess Anna beautifully finished a well-worked team goal! 2-3
As the game entered its final minutes, a phenomenal effort from every player ensured Bristol stayed tight at the back with some great clearances from Eve and Leah. The determination not to concede was evident from all on the pitch as the seconds crept by and the lateral rain and wind battered the pitch. When the whistle finally came there were joyous celebrations for Bristol, a hard-fought victory to round out a perfect start at the half-way point in the season. Despite a slow start, every player in the squad showed great grit and determination to grind out the win and showcase Bristol’s ultimate football superiority in the West Country – even Bill agreed that celebrations were in order!
Neither the torrid weather nor a £60 parking fine could dampen the mood as Bristol headed home victorious with three points in the bag and unbeaten at the top of the league!
POTM: tbc
Written by: Sarah-Jane Feeley
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