At 14:30 on Sunday, Bristol City will walk out at Vicarage Road for their first ever appearance in the Continental Cup final. It is a feat than even just a few weeks ago seemed slightly impossible.
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Champions League football returned to Kingsmeadow last night with a bang. In a match that had everything – from red cards to penalty saves – Chelsea hosted Atlético Madrid in a testing Round of 16 fixture.
To say it has been a long time since a competitive England fixture is somewhat of an understatement. 349 days (502,560 minutes or 5,584 games in case you were wondering!) since they faced Spain in the SheBelieves Cup, they will finally line up tomorrow lunch time to face Northern Ireland.
If it feels like we’ve been here before, then you are right. But once again, we can say…500 days to go! Euro 2022 is starting to become a very real and exciting prospect. Sitting in Wembley this time last year, listening to the plans for the tournament, it was hard not to be enthusiastic about the upcoming competition. And now, after the toughest of years, the sight of this celebration of the women’s game on the horizon is anticipated more eagerly than ever.
Amongst the big-name derbies that this set of mid-week fixtures in the Barclays FAWSL presented, there was another game that was of equal importance. As the relegation battle heats up at the bottom, Brighton hosted West Ham in a game that would provide vital relief to whichever side could seal the victory.
There have been many surprises in the Barclays FAWSL this season, but the development of Birmingham City has certainly been one of them. They may currently sit 11th in the table but have multiple games in hand over their rivals and have conceded the least number of goals (16) of anyone outside the top four. They produced another shock on Sunday afternoon, earning a valuable point away to Everton.
The stakes were raised on Saturday afternoon as Aston Villa returned to league action in a somewhat precarious position near the bottom of the table. With their game against Arsenal falling foul of the weather last weekend, Bristol’s first win of the season narrowed the gap as the relegation battle in the Barclays FAWSL heats up.
This weekend’s Barclays FAWSL action started with a potentially significant fixture at Twerton Park as the relegation battle gathers pace. Brighton travelled to Bristol, sitting seven points over the league’s bottom side but well aware that in football the tide can turn very quickly.
Football, as with any walk of life, is made up of a multitude of characters. The naturally skilled; the hard workers; the energisers; the personalities – these attributes are not mutually exclusive, but they are all part of why we follow the game passionately.
Every so often, you come across a footballer who encapsulates the lot. Jill Scott is one such individual – a skilled but tough opponent on the field with an undeniably engaging and infectious nature off it.
It has, at times, been a tough welcome to the Barclays FAWSL for Aston Villa. And as the winter descended on Walsall early on Saturday afternoon, they had to display all their fight and grit to earn a point against a confident Reading side.