Bristol City Register First Win as Hardy’s Hattrick Stuns the Golden Girls

Bristol City moved to eighth in the Women’s Super League 2 (WSL2) table after securing their first win of the season after a 5-1 thriller over Watford Women at Vicarage Road on Sunday. 

A superb performance by Rio Hardy opened the scoreline for the Robins in the first half, while new summer signing Saoirse Noonan pulled one for the hosts after the break. 

The Robins quickly restored their lead through two goals by Hardy, including a penalty kick late on in the half, with late goals from Katie Robinson including an own goal by Aoibheann Clancy wrapped a very dominant performance for the visitors. 

Ahead of kick off and in the 13th minute, there was a minute’s applause for former Liverpool head coach Matt Beard, marking a year since his passing. 

Pre-match

Both teams aimed to improve following mixed results earlier this campaign, with Watford drawing twice against Burnley and Nottingham Forest, and Bristol City losing two successive games against Sunderland and Newcastle. 

Watford were looking to go one better, sitting 7th in the table and hoping to turn their recent draws into wins. Meanwhile, Bristol City also aimed to bounce back, looking to get their season moving after sitting second to bottom. 

Safia Middleton-Patel kept her place between the sticks for the Golden Girls, while summer signing Grace Neville made her debut in the starting XI. Lucy Lyon, Eden Skyers and Neville formed the backline, while Clancy, Poppy Wilson, Zara Bailey and Karin Muya formed a solid front. 

Lotta Lindström, Maria Farrugia and Emily Syme formed a solid midfield for the Robins, Hardy leading from the front, determined to make an impact. 

An End-to-End First Half

Bristol began the half strongly, very dominant in possession and creating several chances, Syme and Gemma Lawley relentlessly attacking Watford’s defence. The hosts responded quickly, with Madison Perry and Skyers looking dangerous in front of goal, but were continually denied by Bristol.

There was an opportunity for Watford to take the lead through an open goal by Farrugia but it was squandered by Fran Bentley. 

Bristol attempted to counterattack, Hardy charging forward before being met by Watford. Muya then drove forward with an impressive run for the Golden Girls, linking up brilliantly with Symes and Skyers, though they struggled to convert chances. 

Both sides fought for an opener, with Bristol coming close in the final third late on in the half and Watford grew more confident in possession, gelling together well and running forward, but could not get to the end of it, with Muya’s shot easily saved by Bentley. 

Bristol eventually broke the deadlock in the 37th minute through a link-up between Lindström and Sophie Ingle, where Hardy struck the ball with a left-footed shot from the centre of the box into the top left corner. 

The Robins were much more dominant after the goal, linking up well and creating several good opportunities, with a close chance late on in the half. Watford counter-attacked, though it did not go anywhere, with Bristol having the last shot on target before the break. 

Half time: Watford 0-1 Bristol City

Hardy Takes Centre Stage to Kill the Game

Watford were much more prepared after the break, creating chances and driving the team more upstream, whereas Bristol City looked very defensive and linked well on the pitch. There was an increase in tempo and pressure with both teams aiming to get the advantage, Watford coming forward with a challenge but could not finish their chances. 

Bristol retook the lead through Hardy, who struck the ball from the centre of the box to the bottom left hand corner, before Noonan shortly equalised for the Golden Girls, making it 1-2. 

Raring to go after their goal, Watford dug deep for a second, but a penalty kick was given to Bristol City after a foul in the penalty area by Lyon, marking a hat-trick for Hardy. 

Watford attempted to claim a goal back, going toe to toe with Bentley but their hopes were quickly dashed through an own goal by Clancy. 

Both sides continued their dominance late in the half, with the Robins wrapping their fifth and final goal through Katie Robinson, making a dominant afternoon for the visitors. An impressive result for the Robins, with Hardy stealing the show with a clinical hattrick to register their first points of the season.

Full time: Watford 1-5 Bristol City

Hector’s Post-Match Reactions

Watford head coach Renee Hector spoke to the media after the match in a press conference, discussing the Golden Girl’s recent league results, ambitions for the season and which players impressed her so far.

Several players really caught the eye for Watford today, with Karin Muya, Madison Perry and Poppy Wilson putting in a shift and linking up seamlessly across the pitch through high intensity passing. What does this kind of performance say about the group’s dynamic so far as a group and how you gel as a team?

“We've got a lot of individuals in terms of players we have and players we’ve recruited, and they fit our system really well, and that was really brave. 

We were comfortable in terms of being with the ball, and those three in particular, in terms of their combinations and desire to make forward runs and details, is really good.  We feel like as a team we were able to control games, but I think now it’s all about putting that good work in to score more goals, and I think the difference today was in both boxes if I’m being honest. So we’re really positive about that.”

Given Watford’s recent run of results, including two draws and a tough start heading into the season, what is the expectation for the team to improve and turn things around as the team progresses in terms of player depth and squad changes?

“For us, the expectation is that we pick up more points. We got much of a positive start in terms of being really difficult to beat in those two games [against Burnley and Nottingham Forest] in those first two games and getting those two draws, a really tough point against Forest, but I think the expectation for us is to put the ball into the back of the net because we’re getting into some good areas, really good opportunities, crosses in, and that final sort of pass or final cross or shot is not quite there at the moment, it’s not quite clicking. 

But no doubt in terms of who we are and our ethos and what we’ve worked on over the last couple of years, all of a sudden it’s going to click and I think the goals will be free-flowing.

In terms of off the ball, I think we need to manage the game a bit better in moments. I think from the past few games there were moments where we didn’t manage the temperature very well in terms of getting a little bit of momentum into the game. I think during the game we’re making some silly decisions, so I think we need to be a bit wiser in terms of our game management. 

But we’ve got a good variation of senior and young players, it’s a new group and we’ve got new players, so get game management and be a bit more clinical. I think we can pick up more points off those teams based on that first-half performance.”

Following up on this, you mentioned team ethos. How is this important to the team as you prepare to face Sunderland next match?

‘‘It’s really important, because it's going to be a difficult game. We knew today was going to be difficult, but I’m really proud in terms of the way we applied ourselves and I think that we controlled the majority of the game to be honest.

 It’s those moments that cost us today. The red cards impacted the game, but when I spoke to the girls afterwards, I told them to pick up their heads off the floor and put their chests up high because they performed really well. 

We have to put that result to bed and take away some of the positives in terms of the performance and how we’ve gone toe-to-toe and how we’ve not [or now] dominated some of the best teams in the league, and that’s no different from next week, so  I think the goals are the same.”

And finally, additionally, looking at Madison Perry, who impressed today during the match, what has she brought to the team so far and what are the expectations for her and her performances  this season as the term progresses?

‘’Maddie is a super important player for us and she gives everything. She doesn’t stop running and working, that’s why people notice her. 

She’s constant and that’s what you have to be at this level; it's a very transitional league and these sort of attributes shine through. She's super quick and her work ethic is top. She was our top goalscorer last year, so absolutely we have expectations of her to get goal contributions. 

We know how difficult it is to score goals in this league, but she's doing a really good job and she got the assist last week for one of the goals through a lovely cross, and we will keep on pushing forwards for her.”

Watford will take on Sunderland next week at home on Sunday at Vicarage Road (14:00 KO) while Bristol City will travel to Lancashire to face Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday (12:30 KO).