Bristol City Women boss Lauren Smith excited for future after win in front of record crowd

Bristol City Women’s manager Lauren Smith says she is excited about the future after defeating Blackburn Rovers Ladies in front of a record breaking home crowd.

A total of 3053 fans descended to Ashton Gate to take in their 3-0 win in the FA Women’s Championship, as part of Women’s Football Weekend.

It beat the attendance previously set in 2019 when 3041 fans watched the Vixens draw with Brighton & Hove Albion in a goalless draw in 2019.

Surprisingly, more fans took in a second tier match than seven years ago when City toppled Barcelona in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

“We said in the week that years ago we played Barcelona and we had a big crowd then,” she said.

“They all came to watch Barcelona but today everyone came to watch us and that is what we are really excited about.

“The fans were excellent. It was nice to see so many young fans get behind the team and encourage us, it was really good.

Asked whether she’d like to see her team play at the 27,000 capacity stadium again, she responded with: “Definitely it’s a great place.

“We’ve shown that we can play at that standard like we do week in week out at the High Performance Centre, if we can play here great, we can get more people behind us.”

In terms of the match itself, captain Abi Harrison forced Helen Seed to turn into her own net before scoring a goal of her own.

The side from B36 dominated the match and carved more than 17 chances with Blackburn rarely challenging Fran Bentley.

It was the perfect response to a 1-1 draw with bottom side Coventry United on Monday, with the side registering their first home clean sheet of the season.

“The players from start to finish took it straight to Blackburn,” Smith said. “I think that was very important on the back of the draw at the start of the week.

“To respond, to go into minute one and get the opposition to get a yellow card, shows the attacking threat that we’ve got the desire as well.

“To get this win and have three goals and have a clean sheet, we’ve done really well.

As well as playing a key part in the first goal as well as taking her own, Harrison led by example in the absence of Aimee Palmer, delivering a strong performance.

Aggie Beever-Jones, deserved the plaudits however as she deservedly got a goal after a handful of chances.

Throughout the second-half, the 18-year-old was a handful for the full-backs, causing problems on the counter-attack and her goal was of pure delight, picking out the top corner after hitting the bar previously.

“Abi does that all the time to be fair to her. She gets us out of tight spots, she’s clinical in front of goal and she has that desire and hunger in front of goal.

“Aggie, all week I’ve been speaking to her about getting at the full-back, playing on the front foot and staying on the ball a bit longer and she did that today. She was twisting the full-back inside out.

“I think she really deserved that goal because she has worked hard for it and did well to get it.”

The day was a real showcase of the young talent that Bristol City have right now, in a season where a rebuild was needed.

One player who made an impact in yesterday’s match was summer signing Chloe Bull, who was unlucky not to score, but created opportunities.

The former Cardiff Met midfielder was on a number of set pieces and commanded her half of the pitch.

“I think the last few games she’s started and played in, she has shown the quality of why we have signed her.

“She started the season, she had a bit of an injury so we had to get her out of that point. I knew what she could do, she can still do more. I think how she plays in transition is excellent, as soon as we win it back she finds a forward pass.

“She really adds another dynamic to our midfield, I’m really pleased for her and I know there is more to come.

“Her and Aimee Palmer, when she is back fit and able to play, offer really different things in midfield. The fact that she is left-footed, she’s our only left footer, she gives us a different style and option from set plays, she is really key in terms of that.

Bull wasn’t the only Welsh player involved, as Gwen Davies, signed from Cardiff City Ladies, was given her first start.

With both players playing at a respectable level of football, it prompted the question of their international prospects.

Wales are playing for a place in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and are currently second, however position for places in the squad is competitive.

Smith’s opinion on the matter was that it may be too soon over talks of a call-up: “I’d say probably not just yet. Could they be? Absolutely. I think they need to show just a little bit of consistency and get a season behind them at this level to prove that they can do it.

“Do I think they can? Absolutely. It’s a very competitive Wales squad, they’ve gone unbeaten and are really pushing for that position in the qualifiers.

“It is difficult to get in there but with more games behind them, you’ll see the quality that both of those have and hopefully they’ll get a chance.”