Sunday could be Judgement Day for Bristol City, as their relegation from the WSL could be confirmed.
Last weekend saw the Robins suffer a narrow defeat at home to Liverpool, stretching their winless league run to a staggering 14 games.
Despite matching the Reds stride for stride, manager Lauren Smith knows performances are no longer enough for her side if they are to stay in the topflight.
“Liverpool is always a really frustrating game for us, and it has been in all our games against them this season.
“I felt like we were the better team for the majority of the game in terms of being more dangerous with the ball.
“We had more spells of possession and matched the gritty battle Liverpool bring to you.
“I was really pleased with the performance outcomes, but at this point, it’s hard to just be pleased with the performance.
“It felt like we were so close, yet again, but got nothing out the game. We’re getting to a point where it feels really tough to say we did well, but we didn’t get anything out of it.”
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Record Breakers
For all the hype Arsenal have received for their attendances and their engagement, Bristol City haven’t received as much attention.
However, they really should. They’ve consistently drawn large crowds at Ashton Gate, and another big attendance is coming on Sunday.
No matter what happens between now and the end of the season, Smith is confident the engagement will continue to grow for many seasons to come.
“It’s so positive what’s happened this season.
“When you see teams in the past who have been in our position, the support dwindles away from both the club and the fans. We don’t feel that here.
“Our chairman is very much in and around us, offering support and words of support. He’s very proud of us and what we’ve tried to do. When you’ve got that backing, it does feel different.
“It’s not just about the now moments either, and it won’t be for us, it’s what the next few years look like.
“To show the club is investing in it now, regardless of what league we’re in, we can continue to get the support, continue to grow the fanbase, those things are really key for the growth of Bristol City.
“We’ve also got a huge catchment area. We’ve got the south-west, all the way up to the edges of London and Birmingham, and all the way into Wales.
“We need to make sure we’re a club people want to come back to all the time, and I feel we’ve done an excellent job of doing that, and fair play to everyone who’s been involved in that.”
If they are to stay up this weekend, City need a win against title chasing Manchester City.
Both teams have vastly different ambitions at this current moment, but Smith is hoping her team can cause an upset, as long as they can stay in the game.
“They’re fighting for their lives because they want to win the league. We’re fighting for ours because we want to stay in the league.
“We will do whatever we can to stay in the game and give ourselves a shout, but obviously, Man City have been playing very well of late.
“Last week’s warning signs against West Ham were very clear, and we don’t want to be in that situation after three minutes.”
It was only the third game of the season when the Citizens defeated Bristol City 5-0, a game the manager admits was a wake-up call.
But she also says City have had a number of mini seasons since that defeat in Manchester.
“We’ve had many different seasons within this one campaign. We had some strong performances against some top teams where we kept them at bay.
“The Man City game was a wake-up call, and I think we reacted from that.
“The middle of the season saw us pick up a lot of injuries and a lot of players unavailable, and that had a real impact on our season.
“Now we’re coming towards the end, and I’ve got almost every player available to me bar Chloe Mustaki, and I feel I’d like to do it all over again with the team I’ve got available.
“It’s a learning lesson and they’ve all put their bodies on the line, and you can see the outcomes of that through the injuries. I’m glad we’ve got everyone available to push through until the end.”
That journey could end on Sunday. Smith admits this weekend does feel different with such high stakes on the line but is eager to stay focused on the game itself.
“Personally, it does feel different this weekend. I don’t want it to happen this week, and I don’t want it to happen at all.
“If we can further push that down the road, we’ll keep fighting, if we can’t, I know we will be gutted by it.
“At the moment, we’re focusing on the 90 minutes on Sunday, knowing we can do something about it. What will be will be at the end of the game.”
