Two more minutes of added time remained, but already Bristol City Women were in formation at Ashton Gate. The Robins coaching staff, physios and those players not on the pitch lined up along the touchline in front of the Lansdown Stand, their arms wrapped around each other, a human wall of red and white awaiting the final, long-awaited whistle.
A number of moments from City’s 4-0 promotion-securing victory over Charlton Athletic epitomised the club’s emphatic return to the Women’s Super League.
That Abi Harrison, team talisman and captain, would seize her side’s second goal to steady the nerves on a day coinciding with her 100th appearance for the club cuts the convincing figure.
So, too, does the near-cathartic celebrations after Brooke Aspin, the 17-year-old homegrown defender who suffered sepsis and a bone infection earlier in the season, grabbed the third less than half an hour later.
And while shoving these moments into subsections under a grander plot risks diluting their singularity, an emphasis on the sum of many parts has been the ethos of this Bristol City team since Lauren Smith took over the reins two years ago.
The head coach emphasised just this as she soaked in the afterglow of her club’s triumph. This has been the Smith effect: a honing of the entire department’s collective spirit.
Unsurprisingly then, before City’s promotion-securing match against the Addicks, Smith made sure her squad were privy to an important reminder.
“We had something written in the changing room today, which is: ‘A family will beat a team always’,” Smith explained. “And I feel like we’ve got that.”
Bristol City are once again a WSL side following a two-year existence in football’s second-tier. A judgement day finale against promotion-rivals Birmingham City next week was well avoided as Grace Clinton, Harrison, Aspin and Ffion Morgan etched their names on Sunday’s scoresheet as Charlton failed to post a reply.
Of course, neither Harrison nor her manager would allow the glory to be spread to only the day’s goalscorers, nor only those who took to the pitch on Sunday afternoon. This is a two-year project predicated on patience, meticulous planning, hard work and perhaps most importantly, a teeming sense of camaraderie, one that reaches far deeper than those gracing the team sheets.
“I’m buzzing for every single person, not just the goal scorers,” said skipper Harrison, swaddled proudly in a Scotland flag. “Fran [Bentley, goalkeeper] has been unbelievable every single season so for the players who haven’t maybe played as much, they’ve played such a big part and at times, probably played a bigger part than some of us did on the pitch.”
Smith echoed her player's sentiments: “It’s the staff that have been here throughout working hard, it’s the club working behind the scenes to ensure that we have a pathway to keep on pushing, it’s proud of right now and excited about what’s going to happen next.”
What happens next is big. Not only is WSL status reinstated, but the women’s team are set to share Ashton Gate with the men’s senior team for home games next season as they face the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. Season tickets are now on sale.
It’s a big but anticipated step from a club that has bought in full stop to their women’s program. The support from top-down has been felt by those in the dugout and on the touchline. The result is telling. Harrison, when asked about the prospect of next season, was characteristically buoyant and bullish as she ran through her expectations.
“In terms of how far the club can go, I think there’s no end,” she said over the din of raucous celebrations. ”When you look at our nearest rivals, it’s probably Reading and Birmingham, so we have huge outreach and it’s about making sure this 7,000 isn’t a one-off.
“We know our task. We try to put on a show, we try to perform and that’s only going to get better and better as we play the better and better teams.”
Smith sung from a similar chorus sheet. “We’re ambitious as a club, we’ve got values that we’ll follow. As you can see, we’ve got a young squad and that can give you a lot of flair, so we want to push and see how far we can get.”
Successive impressive performances from both ends of the pitch back up Smith’s sentiments. Adjustments at half-time, including the substitution of Shania Hayles, who struggled to impart herself in the final third, for Ffion Morgan, along with a more determined conviction on executing the basics put the game firmly out of reach for Charlton.
Defensively, City recorded a second successive clean sheet to add to Bentley’s repertoire, and while the return of experienced Vicky Bruce alongside youngsters Aspin (17) and Naomi Layzell (19) shored up a formidable display, when called into action shortly after Harrison’s goal, Bentley supplied a stunning save to keep City’s momentum growing.
Next season, City’s average age will rest conspicuously lower than the majority of WSL sides, but the effective alloy of youth and experience that Smith has cobbled together through savvy recruitment and nourishing homegrown talent has been impressive. Harrison maintains that while she might come across as the leader, her responsibilities are considerably lessened by the maturity of her fellow teammates.
“[Next season] is going to be tough, we’re not naïve,” Harrison said. “We’ve got a young group but we’re a mature group. The young ones, you look at Brooke and Naomi. They’ve played at this level for at least two years so you don’t really need to say much.”
Goalscorer Clinton and defender Gracie Pearse, on loans from from Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur respectively, are set to depart, and while Harrison refused to close the door on the possibility of Clinton’s return, the England youngster’s success at City is further testament to the unerring recruitment under Smith. Next season should follow a similar blueprint.
Still, the air ringing from the confetti cannons begged the question: Did City expect to be here, hoisting the women’s Championship trophy in front of a club record crowd so soon?
“I thought this year was going to be really difficult, which it has been,” Smith admitted. “It’s not been smooth sailing at all, so I wasn’t sure what would happen this year. I knew we’d push really hard and give it a good go, but I’m surprised that it’s happened so quickly.
“Then, in the same breath, I’m not surprised because the players that we’ve got are excellent and they’ve made me stronger, given me a headache at times in lots of ways but we’ve got stronger as the season has gone on and last two games have shown that.”
City face Birmingham in the final match of the season next weekend. Despite heady pressure piled on by their promotion rivals in the season’s final furlong, Smith and co. can go into Sunday with their nerves settled and their heads clear.
But they will enjoy themselves. That much is for sure. Even as Harrison’s corner floated over the bar and into the net beyond Charlton keeper Sian Rodgers, she would not allow herself to think of promotion. Neither when Aspin’s nor Morgan’s goals categorically put the game out of reach.
Instead, Harrison glanced at Smith and asked whether she should waste time near the corner flag or enjoy it.
“The answer is enjoy it,” Harrison beamed. “We’ve worked hard. We spoke about the aims and objectives on the first day of pre-season. We were working for that, we’d been working for it for the last two years. As soon as we were relegated, we wanted to get back.
“Of course, you mention [promotion], but at the end of the day we can only control what we can control. We just have to stick to what we know. And we did that and left no stone unturned. Every week we turned up. We had good results, bad results, good performances, tough runs. This season had it all and that’s why I say we are such deserving winners.”
