Bristol 2s arrived at the GFA for their first cup game against Gloucester 1s! Richard the referee had a lot to say about jewellery being removed, the colour of tape used on socks, and most importantly the linesmen. The game started off even, with an early Gloucester corner which Ella Hooper dealt with and cleared. Play continued and a clumsy clearance from the Gloucester centre back lands Molly with a shot on goal which unfortunately landed in the keeper’s hands. Hoda won the ball back and the ball travelled around the backline effortlessly. In the middle Molly expertly kept hold of the ball delivering dangerous balls forwards towards Gloucester’s defence. One of Gloucester’s midfielders managed to break our back line, but keeper Amy came well off her line and won a tackle, giving Bristol a goal-kick. The referee seemed to have woken up on the wrong side of bed this day and was extremely unhappy with the running of the line and asked Anna to sort them out several times. Bristol’s double movements on throw ins were straight from the training ground and allowed them to keep possession. In the box, Llio made a beautiful pass back to An who narrowly missed the left hand post. Ella at left back was a beast and prevented their right winger from making any runs. Despite it being an even game and fairly end-to-end in the first half, Bristol look on top with more determination and chances created.
The half-time whistle blew, and the referee gave what felt like 3 minutes for break! Once reconvened, the referee let Anna know he had something to say to everyone. Anna asked for silence and was surprised when she heard the voice of not Richard, but Gary. Referencing one of the Gloucester girls, Gary exclaimed “Is he going to tell her to take her eyelashes off too?!” Everyone’s jaws dropped and after somehow managing to compose themselves, the referee got on with his lecture aimed at the linesmen. It was clear that an assembly was needed to get his message across – he even named and shamed Annabel, calling her work on the line “abysmal”. Oh dear.
The game resumed and it remained fairly even with Bristol finding themselves unlucky in the final third. The Bristol defence were clinical and Hoda did well to come wide out of position cutting off any runs that their wingers made past our fullbacks. Maia made her debut on the pitch after recovering from her quad injury, she held up play well preventing their midfielders from getting the ball forwards. Millie made her debut as a centre-forwards and narrowly missed a goal. The game became more tense as Bristol created more and more chances. In the 83rd minute of the game, hard work from UBWFC veteran Alice Jack landed Bristol with a corner. Fullback Ella Hooper stepped up to take it and delivered a perfect cross in towards the six-yard line where fresher Maia met the ball with a perfect header, sending it into the top of the net. The crowd went wild, and Maia herself couldn’t quite believe her eyes as she ran the length of the pitch with a look of complete disbelief and excitement at the same time. What a debut! The final 10 minutes were treacherous, with the fear of penalties Bristol wasted all the time they could to maintain their 1-0 lead. Millie wound the Gloucester side up, keeping the ball in their corner for at least 2 minutes of the remaining time. Slightly less intentionally, Phoebe wasted time on her throw-in after a substitution was made, landing her with the first yellow card the team have seen. Play resumed and Gloucester had no more chances – Bristol are through to the next round of the cup.
Join us in the new year to see whether they can go one step further in their game against Plymouth Marjon 1’s!!
By Anna Bowes
