Football / Bristol City Women
Match report: Bristol City Women 1-1 London City Lionesses
Bristol City Women were held to a 1-1 draw with London City Lionesses in the FA Continental Cup with the visitors taking home an extra point after a 3-4 victory on penalties.
The first chance of the game fell to the hosts as Ebony Salmon picked up a loose ball on the edge of the area and fired a shot on goal, but the forward dragged her effort wide of the target.
London City Lionesses opened the scoring on the fifteenth minute as Leanne Cowan picked up the ball in space and fired the ball into the bottom corner of the net from twenty yards out.
Kirsten Reilly then had a glorious chance to bring City level as Vita Van der Linden picked the midfielder out in the box, but she couldn’t quite trouble Thomas with her headed effort.
Salmon had another chance to bring the hosts level before the first half was over, she used her pace to spin Short and drive into the box, however, as she pulled the trigger her effort drifted past the post.
City trailed at the break and came out of the blocks flying with substitutes Flo Allen, Carla Humphrey and Abi Harrison in particular making a real difference.
It would be the latter who be the catalyst in City’s equaliser as she drove into the London City box and squared the ball to Charlie Wellings, who stroked the ball into the back of the net to bring her side level.
With the Robins on the front foot they chucked all they had at the Lionesses, but they held firm via any means necessary.
The hosts almost had a carbon copy second, but Salmon’s ball into Harrison in the six yard-box was bravely defended by Preist and the visitors cleared.
City almost had a sensational winner in the final ten minutes as Carla Humphrey struck the ball from 25 yards and it looked destined to fly into the top corner, but instead it rattled off the crossbar and the midfielder would be denied of a sensational goal by a matter of inches which meant the game finishing 1-1.
With the game locked up at 1-1 after ninety minutes, per FA Continental Cup protocol, we had a penalty shoot-out to decide who would take home an extra point.
City got off to the perfect start as former striker, Juliette Kemppi saw her penalty well saved by Sophie Baggaley.
The sides exchanged well taken penalties before Lucy Thomas tipped Olivia Chance’s penalty onto the post and level it up in the shootout with two spot kicks remaining.
With both sides neck and neck, Humphrey stepped up to take the host’s final penalty and she saw her effort smartly saved by Thomas down to her left to see the visitors claim the extra point.
Photo by JMP
Read more: Match report: Bristol City Women 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Our newsletters emailed directly to you
