Second-half strikes by Aggie Beever-Jones and Aimee Palmer lifted Bristol City to a 3-2 away victory over London City Lionesses and also took the Robins into second in the Championship table.
City manager Lauren Smith hailed a second-half resurgence from her side as they showed greater confidence and creativity in possession.
"I think it was a really transitional game. I think we knew that coming into it because both teams like to get the ball down, play through the thirds and break teams up between the lines so I think when we both tried to do that, we cancelled each other out in midfield quite a lot," Bristol City manager Lauren Smith said.
“That was obviously in the first half and in the second half, I think we just sorted ourselves out in terms of being more aggressive going into the one-touch movements a little bit more and really matching them which changed it for us. The momentum flew our way in the second half so that was a big change overall.
“We scored the second goal under two and a half minutes into the second half so that changed the game.
"We knew we had a foothold in the game and there were chances that might come for us but ultimately, the second goal changed it and swing it our way for a long period in the second half – probably until the last 15 minutes. That was us being scrappy and making sure we found our way to get the three points.”
London City came close to opening the scoring early, when Karin Muya struck a low driving effort that forced Bristol goalkeeper Fran Bentley into a smart save.
Beever-Jones then delivered a defence-splitting pass that sent Abi Harrison down the left and fired her shot across goal, but the Scotland international's effort took a nick off Lionesses’ shot-stopper Shae Yanez’s boot, sending it wide of the post.
The Robins were awarded a 29th-minute penalty after Beever-Jones was brought down, and Harrison took full advantage of the opportunity, smashing her spot-kick into the top corner.
The Lionesses responded quickly, Shanade Hopcroft executing a dangerous cross which met Hayley Nolan at the centre of the box, only to see her effort brilliantly blocked by Bentley. But the damage was soon done, Lily Agg converting the rebound to slot the ball into the empty net at the far post.
City started the second-half in emphatic fashion after some great movement on the right flank saw Ella Powell’s resulting cross set up Beever-Jones who volleyed her effort into the bottom corner.
The Robins doubled their lead just before the hour mark when Palmer notched a brilliant free kick from the edge of the box.
Allison Palisch, who came off the bench in the 61st minute, made a near instant impact, her left-footed effort setting up a dramatic end to the match—but the Robins ultimately claimed the three points.
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