Lauren Smith bemoaned her side’s lack of cohesion as Bristol City fell to a 2-0 defeat to promotion rivals London City Lionesses in what arrives as a potentially critical setback in the Robins’ promotion charge.
The league leaders were forced into desperate last ditch defending inside the opening 10 minutes, and the early episode was portentous of the match to come as Bristol City found themselves struggling to create while withstanding London City’s constant salvos.
Atlanta Primus’ quickfire brace seven minutes after the interval eventually proved the difference on the day, cutting Bristol City’s six-point lead to London City at the top of the Championship table down to three with just five matches remaining in the season.
And Smith was unapologetic in her post-match assessment, admitting the better side won and calling for a “refocus” after the disjointed display.
“Quite simply, the better team won,” she said. “They were better all-around today. Their press was better, they picked up the first and second balls better than we did and I think, overall, they wanted it more than we did and unfortunately that’s how it goes.
“The goals may be scrappy but they got into the back of the net. They took their chances. We didn’t. I know the players are going to be frustrated with this and gutted as well, but there’s nothing more to it than that they were better than us today.”
The performance was a far cry from that of the weekend prior, in which Bristol City eventually shook off chary first-half constraints and strung together a comprehensive team win over Durham suggestive of a side capable of seizing promotion with unfettered ease.
And Smith singled out Sunday’s impulse to engage in individual performances rather than working as a unit in the face of adversity as a potential detriment to their promotion push.
“I think we didn’t do our roles completely,” she said. “I think there was no other reason than we started to play as individuals instead of as a team. Until we decide to get behind each other and work together that’s going to happen.
“My message to the girls is refocus. We’ve got to decide what we want to do. I’ve said it before - it’s got to be a gritty win. It’s got to be doing a different job that you’re not used to or just a completely new role. So refocus, go again. It’s not over. So don’t worry about that bit. It’s absolutely within our hands. So we need to refocus, regroup and go again.”
Sunday’s match marked the first of a difficult run of fixtures, with Bristol City still set to face three of the top five teams in the final five fixtures.
Smith did not deny the formidable challenge ahead and emphasised the importance of a positive and exigent response after Sunday’s disappointment if her side are to emerge on the right side of the promotion battle at the end of the season.
“We’ve said it. It’s going to be a big five games,” she said. “We know we’re going to have a target on our back, we’ll know that people want to take us off that top spot and every game is going to matter. Every minute matters now.”
Bristol City Women return to action with a Championship clash against third-place Southampton on Sunday.
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