Blackburn Rovers and Bristol City shared the points in an entertaining goalless draw at the Sir Tom Finney Stadium in the Women’s Championship, but it was the hosts who were by far the happiest of the sides.
Blackburn came into the game looking for their first league win in three games, while Bristol City knew that a win could take them to the top of the table but the stalemate left them ninth and second, respectively, as London City Lionesses increased their advantage at the summit to three points.
“I am pleased with it, we’ve dug deep today and it’s been a really tough encounter but that’s what we expected," said Blackburn manager Gemma Donnelly. “Any team fears coming to Blackburn because they don’t quite know what they’re going to get apart from a super resilient tough performing team and that’s exactly what they’ve got.
“We’ve broken them down, we’ve stopped them playing and we’ve got on the ball, we’ve seen some good possession and to be fair, we could’ve stolen it at the end."
The mood in the City camp was considerably different as defender Vicky Bruce said: “I think we’re a little bit disappointed with that result. We wanted to come here and get the three points. We knew it was going to be a battle, the pitch isn’t the best, it’s pretty muddy and it’s going to be scrappy.
"We’re a little bit frustrated with ourselves and kind of disappointed but we know how much more important that London City on Wednesday is to get the three points and do what we can to keep our goal of winning the league alive.
"I think we came out maybe not as prepared as we should’ve been. We knew it was going to be physical but when you add the condition of the field and just how we didn’t start that strong, it kind of became even more difficult on us."
After a quiet opening where Blackburn had the better of the play, Bristol City had the first real chance on 24 minutes when Shania Hayles’ header hit the post after Blackburn keeper Alex Brooks tipped a cross into her path. Three minutes later, City came close again when Jodie Hutton’s free kick from the right-hand side hit the crossbar.
Blackburn then had a golden opportunity to take the lead on the brink of half-time, but Saffron Jordan’s shot was blocked by a defender.
Four minutes into the second half, Bristol City could’ve taken the lead but Chloe Bull’s header went just over the bar. On 59 minutes, City came close again when Bull’s half-volley on the end of a corner went just wide.
Blackburn had a shout for a penalty when substitute Farah Crompton went down in the box but appeals were waved away by the referee. In the final minute, Rovers should’ve won the game when Natasha Fenton played an excellent ball through to Jordan but her shot hit the post.
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