Since she first started playing football, Fran Bentley has been making a big impact in the game. As a defender and then goalkeeper for local side Hartford Boys, in Cheshire, the club changed their team name and crest to simply Hartford FC to recognise her continual presence in the team.
Just over a decade on, after time with the set-ups at Manchester United and Manchester City, Bentley is now part of the Bristol City team that has started the Championship season with three wins from three and are yet to concede a goal ahead of Sunday’s marquee match against Southampton at Ashton Gate.
The 21-year-old made the move to West Country originally last season, joining on loan from United to earn first-team football and after a fine season under Lauren Smith’s management, turning that into a permanent switch was a no-brainer.
Although it was her first time living away from the north west, the atmosphere and culture at the club, plus the football that Smith has encouraged during her first year in charge made it an easy decision.
That was evidenced this week when the goalkeeper in the women’s team were part of a session with namesake Dan Bentley, Stefan Bajic and Pat Mountain, and Nigel Pearson a keen observer, showcasing the Lansdown vision of having the various wings of Bristol City all under one roof.
“It was amazing,” Bentley said. “It was great just seeing how they work compared to how we work and taking bits off them. I think probably the speed of it and just the quality. We did 1v1 blocking and the quality of how quick they are to make their decision and commit to the action.
“I think we’re (goalkeepers) all similar, it’s a very different position on the pitch because you have to be a certain type of person to do that - we’re all crazy in our own way; just wanting to get the ball smashed at you and wanting to get the in way, not jump out of the way of it.
“It’s all one club; all teams, whether it’s us, the academy, the men, we see them about. The men’s manager is always chatting to us, seeing how we’ve got on.”
Having made such an encouraging start to the campaign there will be an extra few eyeballs on City when they take to the field on Sunday afternoon against Southampton, with a crowd in excess of 3,000 expected at Ashton Gate.
Bentley experienced it twice last season, and is aware of the extra responsibility of having to deliver.
City have, for the most part, been dominant in their first three wins of the season - against Sunderland, Blackburn Rovers and Coventry City - but head coach Smith has been a little frustrated it hasn’t been replicated on the scoreline, with the Robins running the risk of drawing games they should have won.
Bentley believes Southampton will represent the toughest challenge of the season so far, and those improvements that have been required will need to be put into action.
From her own perspective, while three clean sheets to start is exactly what a goalkeeper wants, having relatively little to do in 2022/23 presents its own mental obstacles.
“Our build-up play has been really good but then it’s our final pass, final decision to create the goalscoring opportunities,” Bentley added, in terms of what hasn’t quite clicked for the Robins so far. “Then it’s concentration near the back at the end of games where we’ve not had much to do, just making sure we shut it down.
“The games where I have more to do, it’s easier to be switched on in those moments but it’s the times where you don’t touch the ball for 10 minutes and then you have to suddenly make a save.
“The few games we’ve played already, they may not be the toughest games we’ll play this season but they’re the ones we dropped points in last season. It’s really important not to just beat the teams that will be at the top of the table but get results out of the teams that will have low blocks and do everything they can to stop us from scoring.
“Southampton will be a bigger challenge than we’ve had so far this season. We played them last season and they’re a good team, they’re quite attacking and direct and we need to be really switched on at the back and we’ll have a lot more to do then we have done so far.”
Promotion is ultimately the goal and these nine points accrued so far are as comprehensive a message that City mean business after last season where Smith secured third spot in her debut campaign following a summer of huge squad upheaval after relegation from the WSL.
For Bentley, on an individual level, it’s about keeping those clean sheets and maintaining her place in the England Under-23 squad having previously represented her country at U17 and U18 level during her time with Manchester United.
“There will be harder tests in the season so it’s about keeping focus on each game as it comes,” Bentley said. “We’re all really pushing for that promotion but we realise the importance of each game; we can’t be dropping points against the teams we need to beat. That’s the real positivity around the group at the moment.”
