Bristol City look to continue "creating our own momentum” away at Watford.

The Robins will want to put their disappointing opening fixtures behind them as they head to Vicarage Road to face a determined Watford side. 

An opening day thrashing by Sunderland followed by a much “braver” 1-0 defeat against title contenders Newcastle wasn't the way Bristol were hoping to start a new WSL2 season, where they look to improve their 4th place finish. 

Manager Charlotte Healy hasn’t given up belief in her side, “proud” of their rejuvenated effort last week, “pleased with the difference in performance from week one to week two.”

Reflecting on a Difficult Opener with Positive Learnings

A shock opening day 4-1 defeat at home wasn’t how Bristol would have wanted to begin their push for victory. Disjointed defending and an unclinical attack, save Lotta Lindström’s debut opening goal, wasn’t the Bristol City fans or players are used to. Healy reflected on the positive week that followed, putting out a much more characteristic display in the North East despite the loss, using the positives to drive for further improvements, and maybe the three points, against Watford.

“No one wants to lose games and of course it can hurt but I think we had real clarity on why we lost that game to Sunderland. We didn't deserve to win the game, it was as simple as that. We didn't play well enough and we didn't defend well enough, but it wasn't huge problems. We weren't sitting there thinking, God, we've no idea why we've lost this game. It was really simple and we tried to keep it as simple as possible for the players, as the little things we could do that would give us a better chance and better structures of how we could play how we wanted to play and exploit the areas we wanted to exploit. 

“That week was really calm going into Newcastle, it was about how can we be really clear and calm and make sure that we give the players the best chance of feeling like they can be brave and confident and I saw that so much on Saturday. I was so proud of the group. I said to them after that there's not been too many performances where I've been more proud of us because I think right to the very end, we had them pinned in their own third. We were getting in good areas or delivering crosses, and I really felt like we were the only team that was going to score. So I saw a real mentality from the group on Saturday that I really liked.”

“I wanted us to be braver against Newcastle, I wanted us to play forward more, to impose ourselves  on the game and I felt we did that. I felt structurally we were better. I thought the first half was really competitive and I thought we came out in the second-half and were fantastic. So, they scored against the run of play and it was a sucker punch really. But the pleasing thing for me was that we were right in that game and even as the second-half went on, I really believed that we were going to equalise. We were brave how we set up, we were brave the bodies that we committed forward, and we equalised right at the death, and but for three yards we get what I think would have been a really well-deserved equaliser against a fantastic team who have spent a lot of money and recruited really, really well, and without a doubt are the favourites to win this league.”  

The Golden Girls Threat

Watford have come back on the WSL2 scene in impressive fashion, drawing both their opening games. Healy is confident that Bristol “know what to expect”.

“They commit a lot of people into those central areas, so we've got to make sure that we defend well, that we're compact, but ultimately there's areas that we can hurt them too. We'll respect them absolutely and we'll treat them like any other WSL2 team. They've got a good point against Forest at the weekend, and they've recruited some good experience. So absolutely, we've got to make sure that we're ready for their threats and that we defend well, but we also need to impose ourselves on the game and we need to show our quality with the ball, we need to create chances and start being a little bit more clinical as well.”

“They've got Saoirse [Noonan], a really good goal scorer, she scored a great goal against Forest. They didn't have many chances but she scored direct from a corner.  If you don't stop crosses and you give Saoirse that time in the box, it was a great header and it got them a point.” 

“Like every team, we want to nullify their threats, but I really want us to impose ourselves because I saw so much more bravery from us against Newcastle. I saw a team that wanted to play and was brave to get on the ball  and connect and go forwards and get in the areas that we wanted to get into. We absolutely need to do that on Sunday. Now we need the next bit, which is just the last bit in the final third. I thought we got into dangerous areas on Saturday, got some really good deliveries in, but we're just missing that ruthlessness in the box. So, we've spoken about that this week  and areas that we want to exploit against Watford and we've trained really well. So I want us to have that confidence and belief and bravery in ourselves and our courage to do those things because we've got to make sure that where we can we get beyond their structures and get into dangerous areas.”

 A New Look Squad Finding Form

Bristol scored 47 goals in the WSL2 last season, the most in the league, but conceded 31, the 6th most in the table which took them down to 4th. Clinical edge has been an issue in these opening games, with 7 shots on target, made trickier by losing some of last season's key players. Developing new connections takes time and Healy is confident that the best is yet to come. 

“We played a lot of WSL teams in pre-season, and we defended brilliantly and we went toe to toe with some good teams. So, I absolutely know how good this team can be and we didn't show the best of ourselves but I thought we were much better against Newcastle. We've, you know, we lost two of our three top goal scorers too, so we've got to build new connections. We've lost Lexi’s [Lloyd Smith] goals, Jessie's [Gale] goals, you know, Rio [Hardy] obviously was still one of our top goal scorers, so we've still got her, we bought in Lotta [Lindström]. I see some of the goals we're scoring training and we've got some fantastic finishers.”  

“I think it's always tough when you lose the first two games, of course it is, but we have to create our own height, we have to create our own momentum, we have to pump our own tyres up and I've absolutely no doubt if we can show the best of ourselves, we'll get chances and we'll take them.” 

WAFCON Bronze Medal Winner Returns

Defender and midfielder Marine Dafeur will return this weekend after a brilliant WAFCON campaign with Algeria, bagging an assist against Ivory Coast and Malawi to get her nation to their debut FIFA World Cup and the bronze medal around her neck. Healy is excited to have her qualities back in the squad.

“She's back this weekend, which is great news for us to be honest. I think we definitely missed her in those first two games. She did have an unbelievable summer, from our club we were really proud of her and great to see her do so well with Algeria to finish third and qualify for the World Cup is a brilliant achievement. Obviously, she wasn't available in the first two games, but having her back this week is a huge boost to us, for sure. I think she does the simple things really well. She opens up play, obviously being so technical with her left side, she connects the game really well. But she has really good short, medium and long range distribution with the ball and we've not seen it yet because she's not scored a goal for us yet, but honestly some of the goals she scores in training are unbelievable. So I'm hoping she can treat the Bristol City fans to a few of them this season.” 

The Return of Brooke Aspin

It’s been five years since a young 14 year-old Brooke Aspin first entered the Bristol City Academy. Quickly making a name for herself in the senior team she moved to the Chelsea academy two years later, spending a standout season back with the Robins on loan in their 23/24 WSL season before spending two years out with a series of serious injuries. Returning permanently to the club where she was developed, Brooke impressed in preseason, starting the opening games and displaying a confidence at the back beyond her years.

“She's been fantastic. She's not played football for two years and we have to remember that. As a person, she's added so much to the group, she's got really good leadership capabilities, so much experience for somebody so young, but we have to also remember how young she is, and she's done brilliantly. She's come in and she's really been commanding, she's learning, she's desperate to get better.”

“She's such a good young professional and I'm sure the experience she's had have played a huge part in that.  We've not seen the best of Brooke yet, I'm really pleased with where she's at, I think she's overperforming what I probably expected in terms of given the amount of football she's played, but she's growing and growing every week. I think she's made a huge difference for us, and I think she gets the best out of other people too. If you look at the back line, I think we're more organised than we've been.” 

“In the Newcastle game and the WSL teams were played in pre-season, the communication, the togetherness, the organisation of the back line and the team in front has been so much better than it was last season and that was really important to us that we develop that area of our game, Brooke's been a huge part in that. She's played a big part in what we've done so far and long will that continue.”

“If there were more Matt Beards in the world, I think the world would be a better place for sure.” 

A year ago women’s football lost a true legend of the game. Former Liverpool, Burnley and West Ham manager Matt Beard will be honoured by the WSL and WSL2 this weekend, encouraging fans to clap in his memory in the 13th minute of this weekend's fixtures. Charlotte worked with Beard personally at Liverpool and shares fond memories of not only him as a person but as an “incredibly good manager” as well.

“He's just an incredible human, I think first and foremost. An unbelievable man who I think will have a huge legacy just on people's lives, I think, before you even talk about football. I think there's not one person who spent a day with Matt and doesn't have fond memories for it. I think people talk about what a man he was, but he was an amazing manager and he managed to get a lot out of everybody. I think, you know, his man management skills and his passion and just the way he was with people,  he managed some really good players and he managed some really, really good teams. My first year at Liverpool is the year they won the WSL back-to-back and you look at the players that were in that squad, it was an unbelievable team and he obviously won Manager of the Year and I know there'll be a celebration across WSL games this weekend, which I think is nice and is fitting.” 

New Era as an Independent Club

Ambition for the big leagues has radiated from The Robins since their relegation back to the WSL2 in 2024. A steady rise in the table over recent seasons has brought belief to the fans alongside the club becoming an independent outfit. Still under the Bristol City identity, playing all their games at Aston Gate, the club are one year into the majority ownership by Mercury 13, bringing dedicated investment, commercial infrastructure and has elevated the environment around the team. Healy spoke positively about these changes and their ambitions, honest that the WSL2 to WSL leap is big and the club want to grow sustainably rather than jumping to a height they can't sustain, building for the future.

“The transformation in the past 12 months in terms of what we look like as a football club is incredible really. We stand alone now and we've built our own commercial department, sponsorship, marketing. We've got a whole business side of the club that we didn't have. There's been investment across the whole club, business and playing squad.  Like every team, this team wants to be in the WSL, but I think what we're really conscious of and mindful of is that  there's steps to do that.”

Everybody wants to be in the WSL, of course they do, but it's harder to stay in the WSL in my opinion, than it is to get there. So we have to build and we have to go on a journey and we have to build in a way that is sustainable and we have to make sure that we make progress and that's what we're aiming for this year.  Everybody, of course, wants to be successful. I want us to win every game. That's my aim. That's how we set up. But ultimately, you know, what is important this year is that we make progress and we continue to make progress and that progress closes the gap between where we are and WSL because that's what's going to give us the best chance of staying there and competing when we do that.”

WSL2 - The Most Competitive League in the World

Incredibly unpredictable and increasingly dominating the headlines, the WSL2 has become a competitive league where almost anything is possible. Watford, newly promoted back into the fold, seem to have got the levels right so far, 2 points in two games they have started steady. Healy is confident, though, that her side can “respond”, in a long league season where nothing is guaranteed, being able to take learnings and use them as the campaign progresses is the most important thing, staying steady until the results are confirmed in May.

“Yeah, I mean, it's entertaining for the neutral, that's for sure.  When you're on flash score or whatever at the end of the game and you're looking at the other results, there's always one where you think, ‘oh, didn't expect that’,  you're hoping it's not yours, but  there's definitely some results every weekend and that's what makes it so exciting and great for the fans.”  

“I believe in this group so much and I know that you lose games in this league. I'll be amazed if anybody goes all season undefeated in this league, what's important is the response. The response was really good in terms of behavior. We of course wanted the response to be a point or three against Newcastle, but you can't always control that, I don't think we were too far off.  It's about making progress and we have to now make sure that we pump confidence into the group and that they're ready to go on Sunday because Watford will be a tough test, absolutely. They got a point against Forest and Forest had a lot of the ball but they still went up and took their chances. So there's no easy game, I say that all the time in this league, we've just got to make sure that when we turn up on Sunday that we're at our best and we're in rhythm and we make them defend and we hurt them.” 

Vicarage Road awaits as Bristol travel east, hoping to take back their first three points and get their tally underway. Kick off is at 2pm on Sunday.