Bristol City equalise twice to secure hard-fought draw at Aston Villa

Though four places, seven points, and twice a goal behind Aston Villa, Lauren Smith's Bristol City produced a tenacious display to bolster their hopes of WSL survival.

Relegation-threatened Bristol City arrived at the Bescot Stadium with no points since a draw against Liverpool in December, but emboldened by positives in their narrow defeat to Brighton. Villa, meanwhile, looked to improve on their 2-1 loss away at Manchester United where Carla Ward’s side left themselves too much to do in the second half. Three points would see Bristol City draw level on points (at least temporarily) with West Ham United, while Villa sought to jump to 7th in the table.

AVL:  Van Domselaar; Mayling, Patten, Corsie, Nobbs, Daly, Dali, Hanson, Leon, Maritz, Pacheco

BRC: Yanez; Powell, Connolly, Layzell, Napier, Jones, Syme, Rodgers, Morgan, Evans, Thestrup

The WSL’s bottom side competed strongly in the opening minutes but quickly found themselves under intense pressure from Villa; the first clear chance of the game was stopped by an excellent save from new goalkeeper Shae Yañez, who joined from San Diego Wave in the January window. Adriana Leon looked almost certain to score from outside the six-yard box but Yañez’s superb effort was enough to keep the scoreboard clean. 

Villa persevered, with Bristol scrambling the ball away from the net again just minutes later and Yañez reacting quickly to save Maz Pacheco’s deflected effort. The Robins’ defensive setup allowed Villa to move the ball quickly up the pitch, and their efforts were rewarded after 12 minutes when an unmarked Jordan Nobbs struck from just outside the box to give the hosts what felt like a deserved lead.

However, Villa were even quicker to throw away their advantage than they had been to gain it. Just two minutes later, a loose clearance by Anna Patten was intercepted with a strong header from Ffion Morgan in to Emily Syme, who was able to play in Amalie Thestrup; the club’s top scorer finished past van Domselaar to draw the scores level again.

Once again on even terms, Villa continued to dominate possession but were unable to break down the resilient Bristol City defence. Adriana Leon, Kenza Dali, and Kirsty Hanson were among those with good chances in the remainder of the first half, but Bristol’s heavy defensive presence in their box was enough to mostly stifle these threats. While the hosts dominated the midfield and looked the far more likely team to retake the lead, they failed to convert that possession into goals.

Play continued in a similar fashion after the break, with Villa continuing to dictate most of the pitch; Yañez was called into action multiple times before the pressure eventually yielded results. Despite Bristol’s admirable defensive efforts, Adriana Leon put away a tidy finish from a tight angle at the hour mark to restore Villa’s lead.

Like the first goal, it had been coming - but like the first lead, it didn’t last. The home side were hungry to extend their advantage straight away but failed to do so, with a Sarah Mayling effort saved and Rachel Daly firing wide of the goal. Lauren Smith’s side used their rare custody of the ball to try to drive forward, but couldn’t get into shooting positions- until a poor clearance from Kenza Dali fell to Carrie Jones outside the Aston Villa box. Finding herself in space, the 20-year-old was able to take stock and lift the ball beautifully over three defenders and Daphne van Domselaar into the top right corner - a stunning strike that once again revived Bristol City’s chances.

With only fifteen minutes remaining, both sides were searching the three points; Carla Ward brought on Ebony Salmon to provide fresh legs in attack. Though Bristol City would have hoped to stun Villa with a late winner, it was the hosts who, as they had throughout the game, looked far more likely to score. One Dali effort was deflected over the bar, and another sent wide from outside the box; Salmon scuffed the ball past the post under pressure from Jamie-Lee Napier. Villa had multiple corners and should have found a winner - Rachel Daly looked certain to do so in the 87th minute, but an exceptional block by Naomi Layzell denied her. Jordan Nobbs, who had opened the scoring so long before, also missed her chance to seal the win in added time, blasting her shot over the bar. 

There was no shortage of late drama; past the five minutes of added time, Villa continued to search for their winner, one of the last plays of the game a freekick from van Domselaar into the box. In a mad scramble the ball was cleared off the line not once but twice - firstly a Kenza Dali effort was blocked by one of the mass of bodies on the goalline, then Ebony Salmon’s shot was saved by Yañez, without whom Bristol City could have suffered far more this afternoon.

In light of their 72% possession and 36 shots to Bristol’s 4 (BBC), Carla Ward’s side will be incredibly frustrated not to have taken all three points from this tie. Bristol, meanwhile, can celebrate narrowing the gap between themselves and West Ham United to only two points - and improving their chances of survival.

The result will buoy Bristol as they prepare to face Leicester City on the 18th February, while Aston Villa will need to take their chances far better on their travels to Tottenham Hotspur the same day.