What Bristol City Women lacked in attacking fluidity in their first-half performance in a 3-0 win over Durham Ladies was made up for in character and defensive resilience - traits that manager Lauren Smith says underpinned the Robins season.
Traits that might just prove the pivotal margin as the season crests into its final six matches.
A gritty first-half performance was tenuously claimed by City courtesy of Durham’s Becky Salicki turning in an own-goal on the stroke of half-time. But any gurgling worries of dropped points were swiftly channelled into one-way traffic as second-half goals from January loanees Gracie Pearse and Grace Clinton fired City into a 3-0 victory.
It’s precisely the kind of second-half that City have relied upon as they sit top of the Championship table with five league wins on the trot and six points separating them and promotion rivals London City Lionesses.
And while Smith admitted City’s habitual slow starts breed their own frustrations, she trusted the calibre of her squad to come good against an opponent that should not be taken lightly.
“In the first half, we sort of played straight into their hands,” Smith said in her post-match reflection. “We know Durham are a tough team, they like to battle and get you off the tracks a little bit. And they managed to do that to us in large parts of it.
“But something we’ve been really good throughout the season is the second-half performance. At some points I do feel that we get a bit frustrated that the first-half doesn’t match the second but what we have to be prepared for is that team’s come out to try and spoil our day, so the first-half is always their best performance as well.
"We know that we have some great players on the bench that can unlock a lot of really great options for us. Second-halves have been going our way because of that.”
City forward Abi Harrison found herself at the centre of a feisty exchange with her Durham opponents on the half-hour mark, but while frustrations threatened at times to boil over in the first half as Durham blistered forward on the counter, the Robins’ second-half display quelched any residual flames.
And Smith praised the resilience of her backline and keeper Fran Bentley, who was called into action early in the first-half and showed plenty of aplomb in smothering Durham’s chances when they broke beyond the back three of Vicky Bruce, Naomi Layzell and Pearse.
The defensive performance extends City’s clean sheet streak to four league matches, a laurel that Smith insists underlines the foundations upon which her side’s success hinge.
“Our defenders and goalkeeper been like that consistently throughout the season and that’s allowed us to get a foothold in the league,” Smith said. “We back them one-v-one so if teams want to leave three against three, we’re happy for them to do that as well.
“They’ve got the agility, they’re smart in their defending and they do the last-ditch stuff excellently. So we’ve got all-rounders in that backline which allows us to do what we do but they’re also part of the reason why we play the way we do. They want to get on the ball and it allows us to have more attackers on the pitch.”
City face a heady fixture schedule with the prospect of promotion within reach. Six league matches remain, but the Robins must face the three teams beneath them away from home in that run, with London City the first on the list next weekend.
But Smith maintained that her side have continued to demonstrate the qualities of a side prepared for such a taxing final stretch in the hunt for promotion to the WSL.
“I think the biggest thing is that we knew that we had the team that could win the game and the goal before half-time was a huge part of that. It was against the run of play almost, but we’ve got a team that will show if we’re in control, we win the game.
She added: "If we’re not in control, we’ll find a way to come out on top. Character, but also a great team performance as well.”
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